


Reliving the Gallery

by TipsSlight



Category: Ib (Video Game), To the Moon Series (Video Games)
Genre: Angst and Humor, Based on Together Forever, Character Study, Exceedingly Slow Burn, F/F, F/M, Gen, Light Romance, Made Before Finding Paradise's Release, Mystery, Original Character(s), Rewrite, Stage Play, a little bit fluffy, weird formatting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:28:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23112472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TipsSlight/pseuds/TipsSlight
Summary: Ib is plagued with amnesia, and exhausting all other options, her mother decides to call an unlikely duo for help: Dr. Neil Watts and Dr. Eva Rosalene. Set up as a stage play, see what dark secrets are unearthed as Neil and Eva explore the recesses of Ib's mind. Based on the Ib ending "Together Forever"
Relationships: Eva Rosalene/Neil Watts
Comments: 21
Kudos: 29





	1. A1S1: The Next Case

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A1S1: The Next Case - After a short drive, we meet our lovely doctors, Eva and Neil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \--Author's Note--
> 
> (Long-ish and personal note, feel free to skip if you so please)
> 
> Hiya! You're likely a new reader, but in the incredibly unlikely but still possible case where this story may seem familiar to you, I am the original author of this fic (formerly known as BakaVSAll on Fanfiction.net).
> 
> This fic is rather old, one that I worked on about five-seven years ago, when I was basically a fetus. At some point, I grew increasingly dissatisfied with it, and I decided to pull it all down to give it a hearty rewrite. Fixing a lot of plot holes, replacing some of the more amateurish writing with new amateurish writing, and adjusting the absurdly high scope the original had (I planned to have branching paths and multiple endings, which became a massive mess and was also very not okay with Fanfiction's terms of service) is what I aim to achieve. I do regret not mentioning this to those who did follow me, and if you are one of those people, I sincerely apologize.
> 
> Since a LOT of the fic has already been written, updates probably won't take too long (though I'm probably gonna pace myself to do about a chapter a week, aside from the first day since the story starts off slower than a snail trying to climb up a gentle incline).
> 
> Also, since I shared this with IRL folk who expressed some concerns, I do feel a need to explain the following.
> 
> First, I chose this format of a "stage play" because of the nature of the two games. Both of them are RPG Maker games, which places a heavier than usual emphasis on dialogue (especially in terms of To the Moon). Ib, the game, also has a strong emphasis on environment, and so, I wanted to improve, and slightly alter, the many descriptions that appear within the story. Second, the story will play out as if you, the reader, know NOTHING about either franchise. As a result, those first couple of chapters were just a massive slog if you ARE affiliated with either story. I promise, it does get better, but do bear with it.
> 
> Lastly, this is my first time using AO3, so if you do have any recommendations for me in terms of tags, how to use the website, any typos, or anything else, feel free to let me know. I can be kinda dumb sometimes >___<
> 
> That's all I gotta say! I hope you enjoy the story~
> 
> -Tips
> 
> \--End of Author's Note--

# Act 1

## Scene 1

_[Neil is driving in a quiet suburban area, late at night, in the usual company car, with Eva riding shotgun. An acoustic song with a light drumbeat plays softly from the car's cassette tape. Eva glances outside.]_

_[The clear sky overcasting the entire town reveals a sparkling light show in the stars, with a brilliant golden moon as its centerpiece. The houses in the neighborhood all look like one another, and yet, each house has a subtle but distinct trait to make each of them distinguishable from one another, such as a mildly different color of yellow-orange paint, or the various flora adorning their respective gardens.]_

_[When the two doctors reach a house marked_ _41-527_ _, Neil abruptly skids towards the right side of the road into an open parking spot. Eva braces in her seat, as Neil narrowly avoids running over a white and grey rabbit. The rabbit scurries towards the house.]_

 **Neil:** _[shifts the gear to park, and stretches]_ Alright! Got here without hitting any squirrels!

 **Eva:** _[wiping her forehead of sweat]_ I'd say that'd be an achievement, but this place seems to have more rabbits than squirrels. _[glancing outside]_ Not to mention, you nearly killed that rabbit that ran away. _[beat]_ Seriously, is our next client going to be when you finally kill a person? Will we have to alter their memories while they're covered in tire tracks and bleeding out?

 **Neil:** _[ignoring Eva's questions]_ Just get the stuff we need for-

 **Eva:** _[scoffs in disgust]_ Excuse me? You're going to make me get it? Weren't you the one to say that you were going to become more gentlemanly?

 **Neil:** If, by "gentlemanly," you mean "awesome-and-manly," then yes, I'm trying to become gentlemanly.

_[Eva covers her face with her hands, with her lab coat sleeves rolling down to her elbows. Despite his protests, Neil exits the vehicle, and goes to the trunk to fish out a sleek, metallic box.]_

**Neil:** _[struggling]_ I... I swear! This... _[beat]_ THING gets heavier... _[grunt]_ after every case!

_[His breath is visible, but only just. The puffs of air seeps out with every grunt he makes.]_

_[He walks near the passenger side of the car, and places the box on the floor. He peers into the window, and sees Eva taking off her seat belt. Eva rolls down the window and pops her head out.]_

**Eva:** By the way Neil, did you already finish all of your painkillers?

 **Neil:** Ugh... Yeah. I need to go to the pharmacy later and get some more. _[sighs]_ Man, I wish you didn't find my pills back at Johnny's.

 **Eva:** Yeah, well I'm not the one that decided that leaving them in the car and forgetting to take them was the smartest of ideas.

_[Neil cracks his back.]_

**Neil:** Sheesh, I'm definitely gonna need them soon. You really are out to break my back, aren't you?

_[Eva rolls up the windows and steps out of the car.]_

**Eva:** That'll make up for squirting me with water during the Halloween party.

 **Neil:** _[raising his hands in the air]_ How could I not? Halloween's like a second April Fools! And a little water never hurts anyone, but a broken back will!

 **Eva:** Try drowning in a lake first, then come back to me and say that. _[deflates]_ Forget it, let's go.

 **Neil:** Fine, whatever.

_[Neil and Eva walk down the walkway to the porch.]_

_[The two-story house is shaded a very pristine, glowing yellow. The pathway is made up of smoothed out cobble. Solar-powered lamps eradicate the darkness and the garden is almost glimmering in the light. With the lawn illuminated, the house's distinct trait is revealed; there are life-sized bunny statues scattered along with patches of red and yellow roses. A silver convertible is parked in the driveway.]_

**Neil:** _[whistles]_ Man, this place looks fancy. I know the job pays well, but I doubt I'll ever get a place quite like this.

 **Eva:** Heh, you got that right. You couldn't keep a nice place like this tidy to save your life.

 **Neil:** Tidy enough to keep my diary off of my desk at work.

 **Eva:** _[turns towards Neil]_ Wait... what? _[voice raising]_ Did you look in my diary?

 **Neil:** _[grinning sneakily]_ Every beautiful, cheesy word. Glad you enjoyed my prank last week.

_[Eva smacks Neil in the back of the head. As Neil flinches in pain, he trips over the first step of the oak porch.]_

**Neil:** _[weakly]_ Ow...

 **Eva:** Huh. I was intending one hit, but two will do.

 **Neil:** _[trying to get up]_ Just knock on the door.

 **Eva:** Wait... you didn't even pick up the equipment when you placed it down! Go get it!

 **Neil:** But Eva, that's so far... And I'm so tired...

_[He lies back down to where he fell.]_

**Eva:** Now, Neil!

 **Neil:** _[getting up fully]_ Fine. But you bring it back once we're done.

_[After patting his lab coat of the tiny bits of debris that clung onto him, Neil heads back to fetch the equipment. Eva rings the doorbell, but no sound is heard. Several seconds later, as Neil is struggling to bring the equipment up onto the porch, a woman answers the door. Eva briefly stares at her attire._

_[The woman appears to be ready to go to a formal gathering of sorts. She is wearing an elegant red dress with a black camisole. She brushes her luscious auburn hair out of her face, which is perfectly tied into a ponytail. A mild scent of sweet smelling perfume permeates from her.]_

**Woman:** Oh, hello, Miss.

_[She curtsies towards Eva.]_

**Eva:** Oh. _[beat]_ Um, there's no need for... umm... never mind. _[clears her throat]_ Hello, Ma'am. My name is Dr. Eva Rosalene, and my colleague is Dr. Neil-

 **Neil:** _[screaming from afar]_ Emiliano Rosoliano!

_[The woman peers towards Neil.]_

**Woman:** Um... what was his name, again? I didn't catch his... erm... yelling.

 **Eva:** _[rolls her eyes]_... Dr. Neil Watts. Are you familiar with the Sigmund Agen-

 **Woman:** Ah, yes. I heard about you and your agency from a close family friend. Please, come in. I was already making some tea. We'll discuss the terms in the living room.

 **Eva:** Thank you. _[to Neil, hushed]_ Hurry up already!

 **Neil:** _[clearly struggling]_ Me... and my infinite strength... costs speed... you know?

 **Eva:** You're not from some video game. Why are you speaking like you are?

 **Neil:** Yet you were so content with playing the game I made to the very, very end.

_[Neil, expecting a response, stops in his tracks. However, Eva turns around and silently walks inside the house, only slightly nodding her head. Neil rushes in, still hobbling from the weight of the box.]_

_[The door closes.]_


	2. A1S2: A Little Extra Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A1S2: A Little Extra Work - Neil and Eva meet the woman and her daughter, and things have already gone amiss.

## Scene 2

_[After taking off their shoes and leaving them on a mat near the front door, Neil and Eva walk in, slowly taking in the atmosphere of the house.]_

_[It is simply perfect. Surrounding an orange stained glass table in the center are two beige leather loveseat couches and a black upright piano. The square rug underneath the table and couches is adorned with a design of four large red roses in the cardinal direction, four blue roses in the intermediate direction, and several yellow roses in between every blue and red rose. A small but intricate chandelier illuminates the entire living room brightly. The place is completely spotless, and the furniture looks like it has never been touched. Even the scent of the house reeks of newly bought furniture.]_

_[Neil carefully places down the box next to him. He lowers himself to sit down on one of the two couches at the glass table. Eva takes the initiative to sit on the couch opposite of him. The woman comes in, and sets tea out on the glass table between the two couches. Neil is quick to grab one of the teacups.]_

**Eva:** Thank you, miss.

_[Eva reaches for the teacup, and Neil holds his teacup and saucer to his face, getting ready to drink]_

**Neil:** So, tell me. Who's the patient, how long do they got, and what do they want before passing on?

_[The woman sits down next to Eva.]_

**Woman:** Actually, I must be honest. There is no one is dying here.

_[Neil puts down his cup onto the saucer.]_

**Neil:** _[flatly]_ What?

**Woman:** In fact, no one is sick either.

**Eva:** _[raises an eyebrow]_ Really?

**Woman:** Yes. It is my understanding that the Sigmund Corporation specializes in altering the memories of a person to fulfill whatever wish they desire before they pass. However, the situation is a little different.

_[Neil and Eva exchange a concerned glance.]_

**Neil:** So, what exactly is wrong then, lady?

_[Eva glares at Neil.]_

**Woman:** There is no need to alter any memories. Instead, you would just need to help my daughter remember them.

**Eva:** Ehh... _[pauses]_ Well, I suppose we could reactivate the memories of any person. And that way, they wouldn't need to be dying since there are no conflicting memories being created. However, not only is it difficult regardless of what needs to be done, but Dr. Watts and myself aren't really here for that in the first place.

**Neil:** Yeah. Our client's name here, according to your phone call, is a woman named Ib, right?

_[The woman's eyes dart around aimlessly.]_

**Woman:** Well, yes, but... Not exac-

_[Footsteps can be heard going towards the living room.]_

**Voice:** Mommy! What are we eating for-

_[A girl with golden blonde hair reaching her waist and a cotton green dress walks into the living room. She too seems to be dressed very nicely. She begins to stare at the two doctors, particularly Neil, with intrigue and slight alarm.]_

**Girl:** _[worried]_ Who are these people?

**Eva:** A little girl?

**Neil:** I really don't think we should be the ones to be here... _[pauses] H_ uh. Déjà vu. Happens a lot, apparently.

**Woman:** Oh heavens, no! Not my dear Mary. But yes, Ib is a little girl. She's nine years old. _[to Mary]_ Mary, can you go play with Ib for now? The adults need to speak, okay?

_[Mary stands in place, frozen for just a moment. She eventually regains consciousness and walks out wordlessly. Both Neil and Eva start drinking their tea.]_

**Neil:** I got a feeling she doesn't like us.

**Eva:** That doesn't matter. _[turns to the Woman]_ Anyway, we came here expecting that we would go take a look at a person's memories, alter them to fulfill their dreams, and leave our client before they pass.

**Neil:** Yeah, what she said. And like I said before, I really don't think we're the right people. You should-

**Woman:** _[interrupting]_ Still, it'll be quick, I promise!

_[Neil quickly finishes his tea, places his cup on his saucer and leaves both on the table.]_

**Neil:** Good tea. Thanks!

_[The woman nods her head in appreciation.]_

**Neil:** Back on subject, you don't know that. One of our clients requested our service, and we stayed there for half a week! We could be helping someone else out in that time. After all, we have more cases than just this one. If we are helping you instead of someone who is actually dying-

**Woman:** Is there any possible way, Dr. Rosalene?

**Eva:** What exactly is the problem with Ib?

**Woman:** She has been complaining about not remembering... something that seems direly important.

**Eva:** _[flatly]_ That's it?

_[Eva places her unfinished tea back onto her saucer.]_

**Neil:** That seems a little... I dunno, a little underwhelming, don't you think? And can you be a little more specific than “something?”

_[The woman shakes her head.]_

**Woman:** She hasn't been communicative with me, my husband, or her sister. Please. She's been struggling with this for the past three weeks now!

**Eva:** Three weeks isn't normal for a child, but like we said-

**Woman:** What if you come here after work, with the equipment? Just take a quick look.

**Neil:** Eva, didn't the last guy that used the equipment against company policy get fired?

**Eva:** Not only was he fired, he was also sued by the agency. _[hushed]_ Also Neil, Dr. Rosalene? Not Eva.

_[Neil quickly sticks out his tongue, but gets interrupted by the sounds of ceramics clanging with glass.]_

**Woman:** _[yelling]_ There has to be something I can do for my poor Ib!

_[The woman breathes through her teeth, rubbing her reddened pinky gently. An air of silence fills the room. A long brief moment passes before Neil breaks the silence.]_

**Neil:** _[exhales]_ Fine.

**Eva:** _[exclaiming]_ Dr. Watts!?

**Woman:** You'll do it? Really?

_[Neil starts to get up from the couch.]_

**Neil:** _[with mild strain]_ No, but I'll tell the higher-ups about the situation. You should ask them too. If they'll give a pass on it, and if we, we being you, Eva- I mean Dr. Rosalene, and me... If we give them a signed contract of the specific details of the case, they might let us do it.

**Eva:** I guess that might work. But there's no guarantee, and if that happens to be the case, then I'm afraid we won't be able to help you, miss.

**Neil:** Chances are, you'll probably have to pay in advance, at least half. And the price is probably going to be really steep.

_[The woman tears up.]_

**Woman:** _[voice cracking]_ Yes, that will be fine. I'll make sure it'll happen, Dr. Watts, Dr. Rosalene! Anything for my little girl.

**Neil:** I guess that'll be that! So, we'll be leaving, and we'll know if you are able to do it, since our bosses will probably tell us.

_[The woman recomposes herself, wiping the tears off of her face. Neil stares at the door.]_

**Eva:** By the way, if I may ask, who told you about us, the Agency?

**Woman:** _[clears her throat]_ One of our family friends, a woman named Lily.

_[Neil walks over to Eva's unfinished tea, and downs the rest of it.]_

**Eva:** Lily. What a coincidence! We helped her out too. She was taking care of the man who became our client.

**Woman:** Oh really? Was she the kind woman that I have always known?

**Eva:** Of course. She was quite ladylike and courteous. Kind of like you, come to think of it.

**Woman:** Hmm...

_[She closes her eyes and smiles, clearly in deep thought.]_

**Neil:** Hey Eva, we should head out. Since this case is gonna be delayed, we can cover the Takeuchi case. 

**Eva:** Oh, right, the singer lady that lost the talent show against that DJ/teacher/quote unquote king. _[turns to the Woman]_ Okay! So, you'll speak to our bosses and if they say it's okay for us to do the procedure, we shall.

**Woman:** Thank you so much!

**Eva:** No no, thank you for your hospitality.

**Neil:** Yeah, the tea was great!

_[The woman, blushing, gets up and shows the two to the door. Neil leads the way out of the house, slowly walking down the path.]_

**Woman:** I will make sure you two are back here. I would rather have someone who knows the entire situation and all to be working on my little girl.

**Eva:** I'm sure that if you're successful, we'll have to. By the way, miss. I don't believe I caught your name.

**Woman:** Oh my! I'm sorry, my name is Sherry.

_[Neil turns around.]_

**Neil:** Like the drink?

_[Sherry laughs lightheartedly and closes the door.]_

**Eva:** Neil, did you bring the equipment?

**Neil:** I told you to bring it out.

_[Eva places two fingers on her forehead in supreme irritation.]_

**Eva:** Neil. Get the equipment. Now.

**Neil:** Fine. _[pauses_ ] Actually, can you get it?

**Eva:** Stop wasting time! You're the one so eager for the next patient.

**Neil:** Ugh. Okay, okay. I'm getting it.

_[Neil turns around and knocks on the door. Mary answers the door, clearly unhappy of his presence on the porch.]_

**Neil:** Oh hello, little girl. I need to-

_[Mary closes the door.]_

**Neil:** _[shouting loudly]_ Hey! Let me in!

_[Neil continues to knock on the door. Some time passes, when Mary opens the door again, giving Neil a grudging look.]_

**Neil:** Very funny. I need to get-

_[She attempts to close the door again, but Neil places his foot in between the door opening.]_

**Neil:** Hah! Take that!

_[Mary runs away, presumably to her room.]_

**Eva:** _[shouting]_ Neil! What's the hold up?

**Neil:** _[shouting]_ I was just held up by a little twerp! I'll be there in a few.

_[Neil walks over to the metallic box, and stares at it.]_

**Neil:** Man, we didn't even use it today, and I had to carry this stupid- _[sigh]_

_[Neil hastily picks up the box, still struggling, and leaves the house. A loud thud can be heard from outside.]_

**Eva:** Did you just drop the equipment?

**Neil:** _[shouting]_ I didn't drop it! I was going to close the door.

_[Neil closes the door and walks toward the car.]_

**Eva:** You totally dropped it.

**Neil:** _[chuckling]_ I guess I did... But there was butter on the machinery! And then-

_[Neil exclaims in pain. Eventually, the sounds of a car revving up and rolling away is heard. A thin man dressed in a spiffy gray suit walks down the steps towards the house. He pulls out his keys and tries to unlock the door, but discovers that it is already unlocked. He walks inside.]_


	3. A1S3: Agonizing Possibilities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A1S3: Agonizing Possibilities - Mary and Ib have a fun play session! Results may vary.

##  Scene 3

_ [Mary pushes the door into Ib's room, out of breath, and nearly collapsing on the floor. The door slams into the wall, and almost shuts from the recoil.] _

_ [Her room is full of stuffed rabbits of varying sizes, colors, and shapes. Even her walls, with the exception of the wall with a pined window, are covered with posters of rabbits and rabbit-themed items, like dancing carrots and plush toys of people dressed up as bunnies. The midnight blue ceiling is covered with fluorescent stars which dimly lit the room. The circular light in the center of the ceiling is broken. Otherwise, Ib's room is generally tidy. Her dressers are neatly closed, her study desk only has an open math textbook, and her fluffy bed is perfectly against the wall.] _

_ [Ib is lying down on her bed, blankly staring at the ceiling and ignoring the crash of the door. She is wearing a white blouse and red necktie with ruffles, matching her red schoolgirl skirt. Mary gathers herself and walks towards the foot of Ib's bed, and sits down.] _

**Mary:** Hey... _ [gasp]  _ Hey Ib.

**Ib:** Hi, Mary.

_ [She answers without averting her gaze from the ceiling. Mary takes a moment to regain her breath. She tugs on Ib's skirt to get her attention.] _

**Mary:** ... Ib? Did you remember what you forgotten?

_ [Ib shakes her head.] _

**Mary:** Well, the doctors came in, and it doesn't seem like they can help you.

_ [Ib continues to dreamily stare at the ceiling, although a noticeable frown has formed on her face. Mary's eyes dance around the room before spotting a couple of plush bunnies arranged on Ib's dresser.] _

**Mary:** Umm... Ib, do you want to play with me?

_ [A moment passes before Ib nods her head. Mary scoops up the smaller mint green bunny and the larger white rabbit into her arms. She sits down on the floor and lays down the white one. Ib joins her, and they begin playing, having the two bunnies bounce around on the floor. There is a dense feeling in the air, but neither one of the girls decides to address it. They silently play, until there is a knock on the door. Ib gets up, taking the white bunny with her, and pulls the door fully open.] _

**Voice:** Hey Ib. Is Mary in your room?

_ [Ib nods. The man in the suit walks in, tenderly smiling and waving at Mary.] _

**Man:** Hey Mary. You two are playing with those stuffed rabbits I got for you?

**Mary:** Yeah, but I don't think that Ib wants to play.

_ [Ib turns to the man and nods again. She places down the white rabbit upright on her bed.] _

**Man:** Well, I heard from your mother that the doctors came. They'll help you remember.

_ [Mary drops the mint green bunny in her hands and runs to the man, clutching the base of his suit jacket. The bunny rolls onto its side.] _

**Mary:** But Daddy, they can't help! They're going to hurt Ib!

**Father:** They won't hurt her! I promise you that, Mary.

_ [Mary loosens her grip on her father. He lifts up her face for her to meet his gaze.] _

**Father:** I wouldn't hire them if they'd hurt Ib.  _ [frowning]  _ But, I have to have a meeting with them.  _ [looks at Ib] _ And I need to take you with me while your mother and sister prepares the house for a couple of house guests.

**Ib:** _[silently]_ Okay.

**Mary:** You mean I can't go?

_ [Tears begin welling in her eyes. Mary completely lets go of her father and takes a step backwards.] _

**Father:** Mary...

_ [Their father begins to flip his hands back and forth, trying to grasp at the words to defuse the situation.] _

**Father:** You need to keep your mother company. It'd be good for her to get some help with tidying up. She'll... like having you to be here, with her.

**Mary:** _[shaky]_ But there was a time before me and Ib! Was Mommy lonely then too?

_ [Ib walks towards her, and gently holds her wrist. Mary glances at her, and then back to her father, who leans down to talk to her face to face.] _

**Father:** Mary.  _ [sighs] _ Before, I could stay at home with her all day long. But now, things aren't the same anymore. There's a lot of responsibilities that the grown-ups have to take care of, and one of those responsibilities I have is to make sure Ib is well taken care of, and that means going to this meeting with her. So, the least you can do for me, your mother, and especially Ib is to stay at home, stay with your mother. Understand now?

**Mary** **_:_ ** _ [defeated]  _ Okay...

_ [The father claps his hands together.] _

**Father:** Good. Now then, we'll be having dinner. I brought home some sandwiches, and your mother has made some soup. It's the type of stuff you could find in a café, and I know how much you two like cafés, right?

_ [Neither of them answer him. Regardless, he turns around.] _

**Father:** Come on, you two. Let's go eat!

_ [Ib and her father walk out of the room, but Mary stays inside the room, her body drooping towards the floor. A tear manages to escape, slowly rolling down her face. Mary lazily closes the door.] _

**Mary:** No... Then it's only a matter of time.

_ [She wipes her eyes with both of her hands.] _

**Mary:** They'll know that I'm...

_ [Mary looks at her hands. Her hands appear to smudge, and the tear’s path unearths a canvas white pigment on her skin. Panicked, she frantically looks for a place to remove the evidence of her smearing. Spotting Ib's bed, she smothers the bed with her face and hands, appearing as if she bashed her head on the bed instead. As Ib's bed wrinkles, the white rabbit plummets towards the floor. She takes her hands and rolls them first on Ib's blanket, and then on her green gown. She takes a second look at her hands. Her hands seem to have returned to normal. The bed is wet, but not stained with the color of her skin. She heavily swallows, forcing herself to stop crying.] _

_ [Exhausted, she collapses on the floor, leaning her back against Ib's desk and closes her eyes. A few minutes later, Ib walks in. Mary jumps up and off of the floor. Mary lets out a small, high-pitched squeak.] _

**Ib:** ... Mary? Are you okay?

**Mary:** Oh... Yeah!

_ [She forces out a smile. Ib nods and turns around to the exit. Mary reaches out her hand towards Ib.] _

**Mary:** Wait! Ib...

_ [Ib pauses, and looks Mary dead on.] _

**Mary:** I... I want to stay with you, sis. I want us to stick together.

_ [Ib walks closer toward Mary, heavily examining her eyes. Mary looks away, but Ib holds Mary's hand with her fingers, timidly smiling.] _

**Ib:** Together forever.

**Mary:** _[giggle]_ Right. Together forever.

_ [She gives Ib a quick hug.] _

**Mary:** I won't lose you.

_ [Ib returns the hug, and the two let go of each other.] _

**** **Mary:** Let's not keep Mommy and Daddy waiting!

_ [Mary darts out of the room beaming with happiness, Ib following.] _

_ [The mint green bunny and the white rabbit hop up back onto their feet, and bounces onto the bed.] _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \--Author's Note--
> 
> First off, I'm going to tinkering around with the formatting of this chapter, before applying it to the other chapters. The readability on here isn't great at the moment. It's a bit hard to differentiate it between itself and the dialogue, where it was a little easier to do so on FF.
> 
> Anyways, for the actual update: as mentioned, I plan to update this story about once a week. I feel like I want to get this story going, so my plan is to update it every Monday from now on (ignoring the Wednesday/Thursday initial upload), as I usually have enough time over the weekends to go over the chapters I need to rewrite. I promise though, moving forward, it will be every Monday. I don't think I'll be able to manage an update twice a week, even though I want to.
> 
> That being said, this is the first chapter that really had a massive overhaul, in spite of its length. If anything, its short length is a pretty solid indicator of that overhaul. And, just as a very small teaser, the next chapter's LONG length is also a pretty solid indicator of that overhaul. The first two chapters established what I wanted to be established, and I had to just change up some descriptions or bits of dialogue here and there. This one and the next chapter were... messy, at least to me. Maybe one day, I'll post the first draft, just to showcase the differences. Probably when I reach the point where the entire first draft has retrieved the full rewrite treatment.
> 
> I do have the next chapter just about finished (though, again, probably not gonna be posted until next week, for pacing). If I do get very far ahead in the rewriting (I'd say maybe four chapters that are ready to be posted), I think I'll be ready to start writing a new story. I don't think it'll be Ib OR To the Moon based though, so if you're interested in this story for those specific fandoms, I'm afraid that this story is the only one that will satisfy that itch, at least until the next game after Finding Paradise gets released or otherwise. This story has been written prior to Finding Paradise's release, so part of the reason for the rewrite is to take SOME of the newly introduced lore into consideration.
> 
> However, rest assured that there are a LOT of chapters that need to be rewritten, and eventually freshly written. How many chapters did I have on this story originally, before I pulled it all down? Ignoring the branching path chapters from over-ambition, there were TWENTY-ONE chapters, and a twenty-second chapter that never left my computer. So, this story is far from over (hence EXCEEDINGLY SLOW BURN).
> 
> Lastly, if you're still reading this, thanks for the support! Even the knowledge that someone's reading my six-ish year old story gives me a pretty solid drive to continue going.
> 
> See you in the next update! ^___^
> 
> -Tips
> 
> \--End of Author's Note--


	4. A1S4: Tea Time with the Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A1S4: Tea Time with the Family - Neil and Eva meet up with Ib, Mary, Sherry, and their father to have a tea party!

## Scene 4 

_[The following day, Mary and her mother are playing on the floor at the living room table. Mary is holding the mint green rabbit, while Sherry has a Slender doll. Mary seems to be a little uncomfortable with Sherry's choice of toy, but Sherry feigns unawareness to her feelings. The front door unlocks, and Ib and her father enter the room during their play time. Ib's father is hiding a chuckle through his smile. Sherry drops the doll and walks towards them. When she drops the doll, the lights flicker and the doll disappears into thin air.]_

**Sherry:** Hey Ib, welcome home!

_[Ib looks up to her. Sherry runs her hands through the back of Ib's hair and kisses Ib on the forehead.]_

**Sherry:** How are you, sweetie?

**Ib:** _[smiling]_ I'm okay, mom.

_[Ib and Sherry sit down on the floor.]_

**Sherry:** That's good to hear, Ib! And how about you, honey?

**Father:** I'm feeling great! I never knew that Neil was working at that agency. I was even able to get a discount with Ib's... uh... Ib's...

_[He ponders on what to call the procedure. A knock comes from the door, though the door was already open. The person walks in. The person is, unfortunately and tragically, Neil.]_

**Neil:** Do you want the name of the procedure with one word or two words? One word makes it terrifying, while two words makes it sound like magic.

**Sherry, Father, & Mary: **Two words.

_[Ib holds up the peace sign; two fingers. Neil brings up his hands to his face and wiggles his fingers, slowly bringing his arms down to his sides.]_

**Neil:** _[with mysticism]_ Memory-Weaving.

_[Ib smiles mildly.]_

**Neil:** There's also a four word name, a twelve word name, and-

_[Neil's shoulder gets tapped for space. He moves around, but he does not appear to move in order to make space. Eva fiercely shoves Neil out of the way, causing him to lose balance. The family looks at Neil ponderously.]_

**Eva:** Please disregard Dr. Watts. _[clears her throat]_ Good morning to all of you. _[turns to Mary]_ I am Dr.-

**Neil:** Smells-like-beans!

_[Sherry and Mary's father laugh heartedly, while Ib stifles a chuckle. Mary stays silent and aloof. Eva clenches her left hand into a fist. Her right hand covers her face, reddened with anger and embarrassment. Out of the corner of her eye, she delivers Neil a demonic glare. At once, Neil is paralyzed out of fear.]_

**Eva:** _[enunciating every syllable]_ Ro-sa-lene.

_[She clears her throat, and save for a hint of anger, she continues to speak normally, reestablishing her bitter gaze towards Neil every so often.]_

**Eva:** This is Dr. Neil... _[pauses]_ Watts. We are part of the Sigmund-

**Sherry:** _[smiling]_ I think it's safe to say we can skip all the formalities. After all, at this point, we all have met, right?

_[Mary turns to her mother, but she doesn't see her.]_

**Eva:** Oh... alright then. _[chuckles nervously]_ I-It's just that I've gotten used to introducing myself to families like that. _[clears her throat]_ Anyway, we were instructed to speak to Ib and her legal guardians about the operation.

_[Terrified, Mary dashes off to her room with the mint green bunny. Ib begins to go after her, but Sherry holds her in place. Neil recovers from his momentary fright, and adjusts his glasses.]_

**Father:** Was “operation” the word you were going to use? Probably scared off the poor girl...

**Neil:** _[grinning]_ Kind of, yeah. Sorry about that.

_[Eva discretely flicks Neil's side.]_

**Eva:** _[hushed]_ Neil! What's with you? Why are you acting more casual than usual this time around?

**Neil:** _[hushed]_ For starters, no one's dying. No need for sad pianos in this case! And this dad is none other than the super-cool Alaric! Even his name is awesome! We met at a bar that was next to last year's video game and anime convention, AniGame Expo! Didn't even know he had a family... But Mary looks nothing like-

**Eva:** _[hushed]_ I know you noticed, but we'll discuss it after our last case for today is finished, alright?

**Alaric:** Guys? You two okay?

_[Neil snaps his fingers, giving him two thumbs up.]_

**Neil:** Of course! Anyways, we're here to speak to Ib.

**Eva:** May we sit?

**Alaric:** Sure, sit down, sit down. We don't bite. _[pauses]_ Well, we bite food, but you know.

_[He chuckles lightheartedly.]_

_[It only takes a moment for Eva, Neil, Ib, and Alaric to settle down on the couches. Sherry leaves momentarily and returns with a silver platter with white flowery teacups, matching saucers, and a teapot teeming with steam. She places the tea cups and saucers on the table before taking a seat herself. Neil grabs the nearest cup. Ib takes the cup next to his.]_

**Neil:** You make the best tea I have ever had. What kind of tea is it?

_[He takes a big gulp without blowing on it, unflinching of the temperature.]_

**Sherry:** This tea is oolong. It's not my favorite, but I feel that it's a pretty good conversational tea.

_[Neil starts panting from the scalding tea. Ib covers her smirk. He clears his throat.]_

**Neil:** Ooh... I'll keep that in mind. Thanks Sherry!

_[He places the empty cup down. Eva looks at his cup, with mild concern, before grabbing a teacup and saucer of her own.]_

**Alaric:** So, what do you think of the house? Pretty snazzy, if I do say so myself.

**Neil:** Totally! I'd love to live here. How've you been, by the way? Gotta say, I haven't seen you since AGE.

**Alaric:** AGE? _[pauses]_ Ohh, you mean AniGame Expo?

**Neil:** Yup! It's not exactly a creative name, is it?

**Alaric:** Right? Well, I didn't get a chance to stick around, I'm afraid. I had some work stuff to take care of.

**Neil:** That sucks, Alaric! It was pretty fun, and it would have been cool to meet you there.

_[Alaric raises an eyebrow, before laughing gruffly.]_

**Alaric:** Hah! I forgot that I introduced myself to you with my middle name.

_[Neil leans forward towards him, putting his hands on the table.]_

**Neil:** _[gasps]_ Really? I feel so betrayed!

**Alaric:** Yeah, but my first name is some lame, snooty, rich, uptight type of name. "Alaric?" Now, that's an awesome name that all the Moonbills Cafe employees always misspell!

**Neil:** That's what I said! And tell me about having an awesome name. You have no idea how happy I am that my last name is Watts. Dr. Watts! I'm like a supervillian!

**Alaric:** Oh, have you seen that superhero show with that antagonist with that cool name?

**Neil:** The one with the clown?

**Alaric:** Yeah! _[pauses]_ Wait, no. The jester, not the clown.

**Neil:** I don't remember. But the clown, he was evil!

**Alaric:** Not as evil as the King of Frost!

**Neil:** Oh please, that sappy dork? There's like ten evil villains over him....

_[As the two of them continue to prattle on and on, Eva turns to Ib and Sherry.]_

**Eva:** Hey there, Ib. So, how are you feeling?

**Ib:** _[softly]_ I'm okay. I'm glad my dad is in high spirits.

 **Eva:** _[smiling]_ Well, I'm sure it's nice for your father to reconnect to an old friend.

**Sherry:** Dr. Rosalene, once again, thank you so much for taking this case. I apologize for yesterday's outburst.

**Eva:** No worries! There was this whole protest going on about our company, and while I haven't been directly affected by it, our caseload has been fairly light as a result.

 **Sherry:** _[covering her mouth]_ Oh dear! I'm so sorry!

_[Sherry vigorously bows towards Eva. Eva waves her hands for Sherry to stop.]_

**Eva:** Again, no worries, Sherry. It might be unfortunate for us, but because Dr. Watts and myself are more free, that means we can help Ib out. _[to Ib]_ It's a good thing we'll be able to help you out, right Ib?

_[Ib nods her head. Eva leans in towards her.]_

**Eva:** So, Ib, did you remember what you needed to?

**Ib:**... I didn't.

**Eva:** Do you know anything about what you need to remember?

_[Ib remains silent for a moment, but she shakes her head. She stares at both of her parents, who immediately return the gaze. Alaric shifts in his seat, before getting up.]_

**Alaric:** Hey Neil, Dr. Rosalene. I just remembered something I gotta take care of. Sherry, darling. Mind accompanying me to the kitchen?

_[She turns to him, worry clearly present on her face.]_

**Neil:** You're alright with leaving Ib with us?

**Alaric:** Ha, of course! I trust you! Now, Sherry?

_[Alaric whispers something underneath his breath, and she just sighs and nods. They depart to the kitchen without a word. Ib blows into her tea before speaking.]_

**Neil:** _[sighs]_ Well, there goes that conversation about the beautiful art of kicking a spiky-haired hero's butt...

_[Eva rolls her eyes before turning to Ib.]_

**Eva:** So, what were you saying Ib? Do you remember anything about... what you needed to remember?

**Ib:** I do remember... something about them, my parents.

**Eva:** Your parents?

_[Eva blows into her tea, before taking a small sip.]_

**Neil:** Ib, I know me and your pop talked about this whole procedure.

**Eva:** _[suspiciously]_ Did you?

**Neil:** _[scoffs]_ Of course! _[to Ib]_ But are you sure it's that important that you absolutely need to have your parents hire us? Is it that important that we have to take a look at you and your memories?

**Ib:** Yes. Did you see something... weird? With my parents?

**Eva:** I don't want to... say something and not mean it, Ib. I'd rather you say it yourself.

_[Ib places her hands together around the saucer, rubbing her thumbs together.]_

**Ib:** Well... although it involves them, it's mainly about Mary.

**Neil:** I knew it! Was she adopted?

 **Eva:** _[exclaiming]_ Neil!

_[She raises her hand to hit him, but then looks at Ib. She slowly lowers her hand.]_

**Ib:** That's the thing.

_[Neil and Eva stare at her.]_

**Ib:** It's something I'm not so sure about. I mean... she's my sister. And it feels like she was always my sister! _[pauses]_ But for some reason, I can't remember her always being my sister. I don't know why I can feel that she was my sister, but I can't remember anything about it.

_[She puts down the saucer, but takes another sip.]_

**Ib:** And I'm scared to ask my parents. I trust them, but... I can't talk to them about this. But this is something I want to know. I need to know.

**Eva:** Would you like for me to ask them?

_[Ib spaces out for a moment before turning back to Eva.]_

**Ib:** I guess it would be okay for you to ask them.

**Eva:** Okay, Ib, I'll ask. Who knows? Maybe they don't expect you to understand, even though you're a really smart girl.

**Ib:** I don't think they'll tell though-

_[Ib registers Eva's compliment. She starts blushing, so much so that she quickly puts down the cup and covers her face with her hands. Eva returns the smile, then quickly gets up towards Neil.]_

**Eva:** _[hushed]_ If I get an answer for this, they don't need us. They need a therapist.

_[Neil scoffs. Eva leaves towards the kitchen.]_

_[Neil looks down at the girl in front of him.]_

_[She looks away from him.]_

_[He sighs.]_

**Neil:** So... let me get this straight, Ib. We are here to figure out where Mary came from, right?

_[Ib nods.]_

**Neil:** Another mother, I presume? Or...

_[Neil immediately shuts up and begins to dig his fingers into the couch's armrest.]_

_[A cell phone rings from the kitchen.]_

_[Ib stares into his eyes.]_

**Ib:** I know what you were going to say. But, she's nine years old too. I don't think we would be the same age if my mom... um...

_[Ib tries to remember the word that escaped her memory.]_

_[On the other hand, Neil debates within himself whether to tell her the concept of infidelity.]_

_[A tense moment passes.]_

_[Eventually, Eva comes back before either of them comes to a definitive answer to their respective dilemma. She still has the teacup and saucer, though there is a smaller amount of tea inside her cup. Noticing the uncomfortable silence, she shakes her head and sighs.]_

**Eva:** Okay, so what did Dr. Watts say to you, Ib?

**Ib:** He said Mary could be adopted or my mom is...

_[She still continues to ponder on that one word that slipped her memory. Eva glances towards Neil.]_

**Eva:** Cheating?

_[Neil returns her gaze with a guilty smile. Ib's eyes light up.]_

**Ib:** Oh, I remember now. It's not cheating. Remarriage.

_[Eva sits down, with a reddened face, looking away from Neil. He chuckles softly and triumphantly.]_

**Neil:** Couldn't it be remarriage, if Alaric- I mean your dad, was the one who remarried?

_[Ib looks down.]_

**Ib:** No. Neither of my parents did that, or if they did, they did it before I was born and before Mary was born. But adoption, cheating, remarriage... it's none of those. I know that much. _[pauses]_ Mrs. Rosalene, they didn't say anything, did they?

_[Eva is taken aback by Ib's choice of name for her. Neil is trying his hardest to not explode in laughter, with minimal success.]_

**Eva:** H-how did you know that I'd come in without an answer?

_[Ib pauses to think. While Ib was looking away, Eva fishes a pen out of her pocket and throws it at Neil. It does nothing to stop his manic snickering.]_

**Ib:** I just... know.

_[Neil finally stops laughing long enough to catch his breath.]_

**Neil:** _[wiping a tear from his eye]_ Okay, so we know what we have to do. Right, Eva?

_[Surprised, Ib turns to Neil, and pans her head towards Eva, her face still showing signs of simultaneous fluster and infuriation.]_

**Eva:** _[sighs]_ Right. We have to figure out where Mary came from. _[pauses]_ Ib, may you go to your parents? Me and Dr. Watts need to speak to each other privately, just for a moment.

_[Ib shakes herself before nodding, and walks off to where her parents left, taking the teacup and saucer with her. Eva sighs, now able to breathe and speak normally. Eva begins to slouch lazily on the couch, before turning to Neil.]_

**Eva:** Neil, I ask again. What's with you?

**Neil:** _[mockingly]_ No clue, "Mrs. Rosalene."

**Eva:** Can you take this seriously? Something about this... everything is just rubbing me the wrong way.

**Neil:** Me? I'm totally serious. Super serious. More serious than a math teacher.

**Eva:** So, tell me, serious one. Why would a little girl need external help to remember when she started having a sister?

**Neil:** Well, what exactly did their parents say?

**Eva:** They didn't give me a straight answer, and I might as well have not received one.

**Neil:**...Which is?

**Eva:** Alaric said something along the lines of "Mary's our girl. That's all you need to know." They didn't look pleased when I asked, but then again, who would? I'm not exactly the type of person that'd pry in people's business, unlike you, Neil.

**Neil:** _[scoffs]_ Which is why you work for Sigmund.

_[Eva groans in annoyance.]_

**Eva:** Look Neil, this case is quickly turning into a big mess. I think it might've been better if we didn't take this case after all. I mean, I probably would have called it off if I was one of the solo workers.

**Neil:** Aww, don't I feel special.

**Eva:** _[flatly]_ Don't push it. I'm your partner because you didn't want to do all the work by yourself.

**Neil:** Yeah, yeah. Back to what you were saying, I know things are getting pretty uncomfortable. I don't know about you, but I'm more equipped with dealing with old farts passing their way to the afterlife, not these types of domestic issues.

**Eva:** Ditto. I didn't know what to say half the time.

**Neil:** That's why I'm joking around a lot more this time. Whatever might ease the tension here.

**Eva:** Call me crazy, but I don’t believe that. You just want an excuse to make your stupid jokes.

**Neil:** No, I really am! Or... _[pauses]_ Or at least now I am trying to make things easier. You saw all their laughter earlier when I called you "Smell-like-Beans?" It was brilliant!

_[Eva rolls her eyes.]_

**Neil:** All I'm saying is that when we're working on the old geezers, there isn't much time left for them to laugh and be happy. This is a little different from our other cases.

_[Eva swallows, and nods.]_

**Neil:** And about backing out, it's too late. We're legally bound by contract already.

**Eva:** When we were doing Johnny's or Morgan's case, didn't you want to break the contract? Now would be a good time for that.

**Neil:** _[chuckles]_ Well, yeah, but that was different. We were both aiming to make Johnny and River happy. Granted, your way was quite a bit more misguided.

_[Eva sticks out her tongue.]_

**Neil:** As for Morgan, we had to wake her up and tell her the truth about her husband. I'm all for prying in people's business, but telling them the truth about it right before they die? That's out of my paygrade.

**Eva:** _[blinks]_ You do know that, if we do figure out what going on with Ib and her family, we'll have to do the same thing, right?

_[Neil scratches the back of his head.]_

**Neil:** Yeah, but with Ib, at least to me, she seems so unhappy about her whole situation. And hey, she isn't dying.

**Eva:** Fair. Not to mention, aside from laughing about a couple of things here and there, she seems really undaunted at the prospect of actually going through the whole procedure. For a nine year old, it's kinda strange how selectively mature she is.

**Neil:** Weird well-adjusted nine year old or otherwise, at the end of the day, we're here to make her happy.

_[A smirk forms on his face.]_

**Neil:** You know, even though they got a discount for a simpler procedure, we're being paid double for this. Double for a much simpler procedure! It's beautiful!

_[Neil looks up at the chandelier. The brightness begins to make his eyes water, and quickly swipes at his eyes. Eva facepalms.]_

**Neil:** But trust me, I'll take care of it with the respect I would give any other case.

**Eva:** _[pauses]_ You mean no respect whatsoever.

**Neil:** Um... yeah, pretty much!

_[Eva shakes her head.]_

**Eva:** If it turns out that Mary shouldn't be here, I think we're going to have a chat with child services. And things can only go sour from there, especially for poor Ib. Although, to her, it really seems like she needs to know. How did they get a contract, anyway? I had to attend a different meeting during your conference.

**Neil:** Alaric was vague enough to not explain the entire thing, but specific enough for our boss to understand... Or something like that.

**Eva:**... Did you stop paying attention during your meeting? Do you even remember anything?

_[Neil looks away.]_

**Eva:** That's what I thought. Unbelievable. We should have switched spots. I’ll attend the meetings, you do the dirty digging.

_[She finishes up her tea, and places the teacup and saucer on the table. Neil gets up off of the couch.]_

**Neil:** Anyways, can you get Ib and her family? There's something I need to do here...

**Eva:** _[sternly]_ I'll let the jokes slide, but remember. No pranks here, Neil. Especially since we're in another family's house.

**Neil:** Don't worry, sheesh. I was just going to play the piano.

_[Eva raises an eyebrow and points at Neil.]_

**Eva:** _[flabbergasted]_ You. Neil. “Sentimentality hater.” You play the piano.

**Neil:** Yup! I may have picked it up after some inspiration from the previous cases.

**Eva:** I'd say it would have been Johnny's case, but there's been so many pianos in our cases recently. Seems like the soon-to-be departed loves classical music.

**Neil:** Don't worry, there won't be too many sad pianos here. I play fun songs! _[pauses]_ Though I am still learning.

_[Eva shrugs her shoulders and gets up off of the couch, taking the cup and saucer with her.]_

**Eva:** Alright, I'll get her. Want me to get her parents as well?

**Neil:** If they can, sure.

_[Neil walks towards the piano.]_

**Neil:** And, by the way?

**Eva:** Yes, piano boy?

**Neil:** This is gonna be... interesting, with all the garbage we saw already. I think I'm gonna need you too, Eva.

**Eva:** _[stammering]_ Ohh, okay. Umm... Thanks, Neil.

_[Eva walks away, flustered.]_

_[Neil pulls out his phone, and opens a sheet music app. The opening notes of For River begin to play._ _Eva returns with Ib trailing behind her.]_

**Eva:** Her parents are still busy.

**Neil:** Well, that sucks. This is the first time I'm playing for other people, and I wanted to showcase it!

_[With a brightened look on their face, Ib sits on the floor at the base of the piano, next to Neil. He turns to her, his fingers alternating between the two notes.]_

**Neil:** Hey Ib. The memory-weaving will be next week. So, until then, you should just chill-lax. Okay?

**Ib:** Okay!

_[She starts bobbing her head side to side to the music, smiling and in complete bliss. Eva leans in towards Neil's ear.]_

**Eva:** _[whispering]_ I know this song was in your game, but you do know this is still copyright infringement, right?

**Neil:** _[whispering]_ Shush. It's not like the copyright holder can sue me, on account of being dead.

**Eva:** _[whispering]_ Neil, even though I'm going through with this, there are so many unanswered questions right now.

**Neil:** _[whispering]_ I know, but that's why I'm trying to just let them relax. Even though only about a couple of hours has actually passed, it feels like it's been such a long day...

_[Neil's eyes widen as he stops playing the piano.]_

**Neil:** Wait. A couple hours passed. When do we have to go to the next appointment?

**Eva:** _[laughs]_ Don't worry about that. It was rescheduled for tomorrow, because the family made some prior arrangements that needed to be taken care of. I got a call while talking to Ib's parents. Sorry I didn't tell you.

**Neil:** I'll make sure to ask our boss to have this betrayal be documented on your permanent record- Great! I lost where I was. I might as well start again.

**Eva:** You were only playing two notes, how'd you lose your place in the song?!

_[Neil, annoyed, ignores Eva's question before returning to the piano. Slowly, his mood lightens up, and the air is fluttering with music and the occasional mistake, which Eva quickly points out. The music calls out to Ib's parents, and they eventually walk in from the kitchen. Neil sits at the piano, playing the several pieces that he learned, as well as barely sight-reading the pieces the family had, and playing off his mistakes as jokes.]_

_[A couple more hours have passed, and the two doctors stand at the front door. Mary steps out of her room to see the two doctors off, at the request of her parents.]_

**Neil:** So, we'll be heading back. Alaric, it's been awesome, dude.

**Alaric:** Yeah! We should get together more often after everything's been taken care of.

**Neil:** Don't worry. I'll take good care of your daughter, and make sure she remembers everything.

_[Neil turns to Ib.]_

**Neil:** By the way, am I pronouncing your name right?

**Ib:** Although it's supposed to be "Eve," a lot of people call me "Ib." It's fine that way though.

_[Eva rubs her chin insightfully.]_

**Eva:** Hey Ib, you can call me Eva, okay?

**Ib:** It's like my name...

_[Eva nods and hums in affirmation.]_

**Ib:** Okay... Eva.

_[A cheeky grin forms on Ib's face. Eva sighs.]_

**Alaric:** Y'know, I tried explaining it to Ryan and Felix about her name, but they don't seem to get it. Or maybe it's because they chose to ignore it? I don't know.

**Neil:** Ryan? Felix? Man, those guys were great! I haven't seen them in forever. We should all meet up again!

**Alaric:** I mean I could grab Felix… But trust me dude. Ryan turned out to be a terrible person.

**Neil:** Aww, really? What happened?

**Alaric:** I’ll leave that up for you to figure out on your own.

**Neil:** That sucks. I can’t even begin to imagine what would happen if he turned out to be a prolific internet celebrity where he ended up being written about as a reference in a written tale about our lives!

 **Alaric:** That is preposterous. But hey, there’s still me and Felix, and there’s also Mark!

**Neil:** _[laughs loudly]_ Oh man, Mark was the funniest guy ever. I really miss his jokes and his constant-

_[Eva forcefully pulls on Neil's arm.]_

**Eva:** I hate to break up a reuniting bromance, but we really need to get going.

_[Dejected, Neil slumps over and turns his head to the floor.]_

**Neil:** Fine...

**Sherry:** It was all so nice to get to meet you two. I wouldn't have anyone else working on our daughter.

**Neil:** _[perks up]_ Alright! Well, see you next time, Alaric, Sherry.

**Alaric:** See you, mate!

**Eva:** Goodbye Ib! Bye Mary!

**Sherry:** Take care, you two!

_[Ib and her parents wave. She seems pleased with the two doctors, but Mary morosely turns away and walks towards her room. Alaric lets them out to the porch and closes the door.]_

**Eva:** You know what? We could have just asked Mary.

**Neil:** Nah. I feel like even if she did know, I doubt she'd tell us, with the way she's been acting. But hey, three fourths of the family think we're the best, so who am I to complain? I'd take a C any day of the week!

**Eva:** Neil, I'm actually... really impressed. You seem so serious about keeping our patient and her family happy for once. You have NEVER acted this way before.

**Neil:** Aside from Mary, who seems to pretty much hate us, yeah...

_[He begins to laugh maniacally.]_

**Neil:** Good! I aim to make them happy. Remember, this case is worth double, so if we screw up and our pay gets docked for any reason, I'll be furious! And I don't even have to put the jokes away because of Alaric! And trust me, I'll keep joking around once we're in the system.

**Eva:** Neil...

_[Fury flares in Eva's eyes.]_

**Eva:** You are a disgusting human being!

**Neil:** Takes one to know one!

_[Neil giddily runs to the car, Eva walking after him.]_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \--Author's Note--
> 
> So, early this morning (2 AM to be a little more precise), I was chatting with someone, and they said to do the upload right then and there. I was fine with that. However, I didn't actually write down the Author's Note so.... here it is now, a whole 8 hours later!
> 
> This was a fun one to go through over and over again. Every time I went over this particular chapter, I saw more details that I wanted to change or add, more things worth mentioning, more fluff because fluff is nice. It's kind of hard to shake off the feeling that I went overboard AND the feeling that I didn't do enough. I'm happy with the chapter, but I know I'd probably never stop editing it if I didn't stop myself.
> 
> The amount of references might have been a little overkill, but I think it fits the To the Moon style of writing. I am willing to admit though, that the references is certainly not the reason why To the Moon's fanbase exists.
> 
> At any rate, this chapter is out, and next chapter is next up in line for next Monday. It's the final scene for Act 1! And man, I'm certainly excited to get to Act 2 and ESPECIALLY Act 3. But as they say (whoever they are), patience is a virtue.
> 
> I hope you continue to enjoy the story! :D
> 
> -Tips
> 
> \--End of Author's Note--


	5. A1S5: Final Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A1S5: Final Preparations - Preparations are final! Eva and Neil are finally ready to jump into Ib's mind!

##  Scene 5

_ [Neil and Eva are inside Ib's room, a week later. Sun shines through the pined window and onto an enigmatic machine placed underneath the broken ceiling light. The machine has a gaming keyboard and a translucent blue monitor, lacking any physical edges for its screens. Wires streaming from it are connected to both power outlets underneath Ib's desk. Strange, metallic yet cushioned helmets are lying on the floor. Ib is lying in her bed and under her bed sheets with her stuffed rabbits, snug and warm. Eva is sitting on a stool in front of the machine, typing away on the machine, the blue monitors flashing lights, code sequences, and images too complex for the average person to understand.] _

_ [Neil kneels over to where Ib is laying down.] _

**Neil:** So Ib, are you ready?

_ [Ib nods her head. With a slam on the last, clicky keystroke, Eva swivels around to face Neil and Ib, raising her finger up.] _

**Eva:** For this to work, you have to go to sleep. But not asleep to the point where you're dreaming, but it's preferable that you are in non-REM sleep. Because of that, it'll feel like you have been sleeping for half an hour to an hour and a half.

_ [Ib nods her head again, but her face shows that she obviously doesn't clearly understand everything that was said to her.] _

**Ib:** Um... Okay. What about my parents? And what about Mary?

**Eva:** Don't worry. They'll still be here. Once all three of us are in the...

_ [She pauses and physically cringes.] _

**Eva:** "Memory-Weaver." When we are all in there, your parents will most likely watch over you, me, and Dr. Watts. But, even if they don't, it's not like we are in different buildings or anything. I already told them that they should stay in the house, and they can witness the procedure if they wish. They'll be fine, and you'll be fine.

**Neil:** Although, it is a little bit boring, since all they see are three people with helmets on, looking like they're taking a nap.

**Ib:** Okay. Should I go to sleep now, Eva?

**Eva:** If you may.

**Ib:** Okay.

_ [Ib gently closes her eyes, clenching the white rabbit doll in her arms, and falls asleep. Neil picks up one of the helmets, and gently places it on Ib's head. Eva turns around and continues typing on the machine. Several beeps come from the machine, and Eva gives Neil a thumbs up.] _

**Neil:** You like my gaming keyboard?

**Eva:** Actually, yeah. It's so satisfying to type on, even though it's a little loud for my taste.

_ [She continues typing.] _

**Neil:** I got it off of Amazeon. The place for all your good goods, with just a hint of unethical labor!

**Eva:** _ [flatly]  _ Don't get me involved in your pyramid scheme. By the way, this isn't the normal MWRS we usually use before. You know why we're using this one instead?

**Neil:** _ [smirks]  _ So, as the resident technician specialist, I have a duty to test some of the different MWRS's that we use back at Sigmund. This one is a prototype. All functionalities we used before will be available, but there's one super epic thing this baby uses: memory-individual personality substitution. MIPS, for short.

**Eva:** Isn't MIPS something else? Like... Million instructions per second? I think it's a computer science thing.

**Neil:** I don't know, I'm not a computer scientist, just a mad one!

_ [Neil extends his arms and dynamically imitates a cartoonish super villain, pose and all.]  _

**Neil:** _[shouting, but restrained]_ MUAH-HAH-HAH! Tremble before my might!

**Eva:** So, Dr. Dork, what does it do, then?

_ [She stops typing.] _

**Neil:** _ [sighs]  _ The main purpose of MIPS here is so that we can interact with everyone else in Ib's memory. Normally, in our usual MWRS, all the important people in Ib's memory are completely non-interactable. We would only be able to interact with her. With MIPS, we can totally talk to anyone else, but there's a crummy catch attached to it.

**Eva:** Their personalities are probably constructed based on Ib's biases, right?

**Neil:** Exactly. They'd act like how Ib expects them to act. Which means there's a chance we might see Mary act like not a jerk because Ib may think of Mary as not a jerk, for example. That is, if MIPS is active.

**Eva:** I mean, everyone's memories are just a little tainted by personal bias. The way one person remembers something will be different from another person remembering the same event.

**Neil:** That's true. With MIPS, it's probably doubly true then. If it isn't active, then the memory would probably play out as normal, at least in Ib's eyes, and Mary would be her normal jerky self.

**Eva:** Neil, take it easy on the kid. Even though we don't know where she's from, she is still just a kid.  _ [pauses] _ But wait, that'd also mean we might not be able to find mementos if MIPS is active and the memory plays out.

**Neil:** _ [slaps his forehead]  _ Oh shucks, you're right. I didn't consider that.

**Eva:** _ [grins]  _ Glad one of us has more foresight than a deer in headlights.

_ [Neil slaps the air towards Eva, before his eyes light up.]  _

**Neil:** Oh right, there is one other thing! I'll be right back, I left it in the car.

_ [Neil steps out of the room. Eva continues typing on the machine. A loud thud comes from outside Ib's room. A small smile forms on Eva's face.] _

**Neil:** _ [yelling]  _ Gah... Why'd you trip me? Hey, come back here!

**Eva:** I got a feeling Mary did that. Whoever that little girl is, if she does things like that to Neil, I think she might grow up very well.

_ [Eva quietly chuckles to herself. Quick footsteps sound past the door. For a brief moment, Mary is seen running past, looking inside, and Eva takes notice. Heavier footsteps are walking away from the door. Eva types a little bit more, ignoring Mary's dangerous curiosity, and another beep comes from the machine. Eva walks away from the machine, and stretches. Mary suddenly runs away from the door, and Neil returns with a tiny tear on his left pant leg. Eva points at the tear.] _

**Eva:** Mary tripped you?

**Neil:** Yup. Look at my pants! Ugh, I am SO resetting her over and over once we're in Ib's memories.

**Eva:** Calm down, you child, you say that like every other case. What were you getting?

**Neil:** _ [smugly]  _ This.

_ [Neil extends his hand to show a wide metallic watch on his wrist, almost hidden from his lab coat. The outline for the numbers on the watch appear to go back as far as decades, but no numbers appear to be on the watch.] _

**Eva:** Oh. That's the prototype Time Checker. I thought it wasn't ready for us to use just yet.

_ [She moves closer to the watch, to examine it.] _

**Neil:** Yeah. The guys back at the lab needed testing for this watch as well, and they wanted to use this special case with Ib as the perfect real world testing ground. The Time Checker's pretty good for checking time over long gaps, but it needs to be fine-tuned so it can measure days and hours, even though those perfectionists want to measure milliseconds. That's a little overkill in my opinion, but that's just me.

_ [Neil suddenly jerks away, placing his hand behind his back.]  _

**Neil:** And you breathing on it might break it!

**Eva:** I see, you jerk.  _ [rolls her eyes] _ Well, at any rate, I don't think the watch is gonna be a problem.

_ [Eva cracks her knuckles.] _

**Eva:** Are you ready?

**Neil:** Aye aye, captain!  _ [salutes her] _

**Eva:** _ [deflated]  _ Ohh...

**Neil:** Just lemme bring in a chair for myself before we get started.

**Eva:** _ [sweetly]  _ Or, you can use the chair I have, and I can get a chair.

_ [Neil stares at the splintered wooden stool Eva is sitting on.] _

**Neil:** Hah! No thanks. And I guess while I'm getting it, I should let Alaric and Sherry know that we're starting the operation.

**Eva:** _ [sighs]  _ Fine. Just make it quick. Ib's been in the system for some time already.

_ [Neil leaves the room. Eva picks up a helmet and places it on her lap. A couple of moments later, Neil comes back with a very comfortable looking arm chair. The cushions are puffy and the armrests soft and untouched. Even the chair smells new.] _

**Neil:** Those two said that they weren't going to be coming in just yet. They'll go in as soon as they're worried or if there's something they need to take care of.

**Eva:** Fair enough. Alright, let's go. First stop is Ib's most recent memory!

_ [Eva puts on her helmet. The lights on Ib's and Eva's helmet begin to glow and blink. Neil picks up the last helmet on the floor, and sits at the armchair. Before he places the helmet on his head, Sherry knocks on the open door, before walking in. Mary is peering from the door, behind Sherry.] _

**Neil:** _ [scoffs]  _ Worried already? That was fast. What's up?

**Sherry:** I was just wondering. I don't know how any of this works, but what would happen if you get disconnected from that machine abruptly?

**Neil:** _ [frowning]  _ Well, It'd take about a couple of seconds for me or Eva to readjust to the real world, ideally. And if both me and Eva are disconnected and we didn't create a save state...

_ [Neil glances over at Ib.] _

**Neil:** Well, things could get very unstable. Her memories may be shifted around randomly, some memories may be lost, or worst of all, new memories may be made, conflicting with the old ones. She, as a person, would cease to function. That's why we typically work on geezers instead of kids.

**Sherry:** _ [yelling]  _ This is bad! You mean Ib's in danger?

**Neil:** Sherry, relax. As long as we aren't disconnected, she should be fine. And there's two of us! Not to mention, due to an accident with some idiot in the agency, the memory-weaver now has its own power source. It's also connected to your house's electricity, sure. But it's a back up, just in case the worst possible thing happens. If anything, me and Dr. Eva are in more danger, because we'd lose our minds if Ib's helmet gets tampered with and removed, effectively killing us. But we already lost count of how many cases we’ve done, so it's no big deal!

**Sherry:** _ [worried]  _ If you say so...

**Neil:** And like I usually say to all my clients, we're the best in the agency.

_ [He pounds his fist against his chest, and coughs from the hefty hit.] _

**Sherry:** You said that?

**Neil:** _ [clears his throat]  _ I might have said that to Alaric... Did I?

_ [Neil rubs an invisible beard.] _

**Neil:** I don't know and I don't remember. But don't worry. Your daughter's in good hands, Sherry.

**Sherry:** Okay. I trust you. But-

**Neil:** Another "but"?

_ [Sherry looks away.] _

**Sherry:** Sorry.  _ [pauses]  _ I trust you, Dr. Watts. Please, take care of my daughter.

_ [Neil nods. Sherry leaves the room, shutting the door. Mary is gone, but it's unclear of when she left.] _

**Neil:** Alrighty. Now, let's get started...

_ [He stares at Ib and Eva, both connected to the system.]  _

**Neil:** Oh shoot! I gotta hurry up!

_ [Neil quickly places on the helmet. As his body leans back on his chair, the helmet lights up, and Neil is now in the system.] _

_ [Moments pass.] _

_ [The lights on the computer and the helmets worn by Neil, Eva and Ib, continue to shimmer and shower the room in colored lights.] _

_ [The sunlight drifts from the machine to the wall.] _

_ [The sterile room's warmth slowly grows, the machine emanating heat with the three dormant bodies in the room.] _

_ [Nothing but moments of silence, save for the whirring of the machine and occasional beeps.] _

_ [Until the door opens.] _

_ [Alone, Mary walks into the room, and hovers her hand over Ib's helmet.] _

**_Act 1 End_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \--Author's Note--
> 
> Hey, end of Act 1 ahoy! So, there's been quite a bit going on with personal life, relating to "spooky current event" and I haven't gotten a chance to work too much on the fic. Which is why I'm quite happy NOW with the decision to spread out the releases, despite the initial desire to throw everything up as soon as it was finished.
> 
> Overall, Act 1, I'm pleased with how it turned out. It established what I wanted to be established, and some parts I had problems with were properly fixed. But I know the next Acts, while they had a lot more of what I wanted to write, there were a lot more problems that needed to be addressed. But, that's a problem for the TipsSlight of next week.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the story so far, and you'll continue to enjoy the story onwards!
> 
> To Act 2! ^__^
> 
> -Tips
> 
> \--End of Author's Note--


	6. A2S1: Mind over Matter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A2S1: Mind over Matter - First contact with Ib ahoy! Now starring Eva and Neil as our intrepid adventurers!

##  Act 2 

##  Scene 1

_ [Neil appears out of thin air, showing up right next to Eva. She stares at Ib, who is staring up into the ceiling from her bed.] _

_ [They are both inside Ib's room, but the world around them appears to be covered with static. The walls, Ib's furniture, even the bed that Ib lies on. Everything has a grainy appearance, except Ib herself, who is entirely opaque. Eva and Neil appear to be translucent.] _

**Neil:** Activate concurrent invisibility. I really don't want to look at ourselves talk to her from...

_ [He checks his watch.] _

**Neil:** _[sighs]_ An hour ago? God, we better not be jumping back in her memories in hour increments, or I'm gonna go nuts.

**Eva:** I already removed our entities. What took you so long?

**Neil:** Sherry came in. She was crazy worried, and I had to ease her fears about the procedure.

_ [Neil adjusts his lab coat triumphantly.] _

**Eva:** _ [deadpan] _ Only means that we really got our work cut out for us, if they're worried before we even figure out anything. Anyway, I also set the memory to reset itself as soon as we leave. Just in case something stupid happens.

_ [Neil adjusts his glasses.] _

**Neil:** Good call. Let's go talk to Ib. And so far, judging by the Time Checker here, looks like the time seems accurate so far.

**Eva:** Perfect.  _ [clears her throat]  _ Deactivating cloaking device.

_ [As Eva and Neil become opaque, Neil snickers.] _

**Eva:** What's so funny?

**Neil:** Have you seen that one video where a child places a hairband over his eyes saying "Activating cloaking device" and runs straight into a wall?

**Eva:** _ [monotonously] _ Focus, Neil.

**Neil:** I take that as a no, then. You would have laughed. _ [chuckles]  _

_ [Eva extends her hand to Ib.] _

**Eva:** Hey there, Ib.

_ [Ib, with the doctor's request, takes her hand and gets up off of the bed.] _

**** **** **Ib:** Oh, Eva. You surprised me!

_ [Eva hesitates for just a moment.] _

**Eva:** Um... You remember what we were going to do, correct Ib?

**Ib:** Yes. You were going to help me remember where Mary came from.

_ [Neil turns around, away from Ib and Eva.] _

**Neil:** _ [hushed] _ I still think that this case is ridiculous.

**Eva:** _ [hushed]  _ Shut up, Neil.

**Ib:** How can I help you?

**Neil:** _ [hushed]  _ Hmm... She never said that when we were here earlier.

**Eva:** So, this is what we're gonna do, Ib. We will be going back further and further in your memories based on small mementos that had value in your life. Do you have something of that sort, to help us get started?

_ [Eva looks around the room, at the numerous amounts of plush rabbits.] _

**Eva:** Perhaps one of the plush toys lying around here?

**Ib:** Would this work? My dad gave this to me several months ago, and it's by far my favorite of the bunch.

_ [Ib turns over onto her bed, and picks up her white stuffed rabbit, and tries to hand it to Eva.] _

**Neil:** That'll do, kid.

_ [Ib's eyes light up.] _

**Ib:** You know, all these rabbits in my room have a story.

_ [Ib gets up and goes to her desk. Still holding her white rabbit, she picks up a plush toy of a man wearing a bunny costume.]  _

**Ib:** This one is from a crane game I won when I was six years old! My family went to an amusement park over the summer, and it was a fun place to visit!

_ [She puts that one down and picks up a very rotund plush toy with bunny ears sticking out of it.]  _

**Ib:** This was a Christmas present from when I was a baby-

**Neil:** _[hushed]_ I think if I see another rabbit, I'm gonna go crazy.

_ [Eva holds Ib still by the shoulder.]  _

**Eva:** Ib, before you go on, may you please place the memento on the floor?

_ [Ib stops in place. With a puzzled look, she places the rabbit next to her desk. She looks up towards Eva.] _

**Ib:** Like this, Eva?

**Eva:** _ [smiling]  _ That's not the floor, but that's good enough for us.

**Ib:** Umm... What exactly are mementos?

**Neil:** Eh. You'll learn what it means in school. _ [eyes the white rabbit] _ Oh, can I-

**Eva:** No, Dr. Watts.  _ [to Ib]  _ What we're going to do is go back in the past, find something that can remind you of Mary's origin.

_ [A gong can be heard from a distance. Neil looks around.] _

**Neil:** _ [hushed] _ What in the world was that?

**Ib:** You're right. I need to figure that out. I'm sorry, Eva.

**Eva:** No worries, Ib. We will be taking small steps through time, so it'll probably take a while. _ [frowning] _ And one more thing. You understand that we are going into your memories, right? Do you object to us looking through your memories?

**Neil:** That's right! I don't want to find anything terrible in there!

_ [Ib gets up, and backs up, distancing herself away from Neil. Eva glares at him.] _

**Eva:** _ [hushed] _ Can you go any lower? LITTLE. KID. Remember?

**** **** **Neil:** _ [hushed] _ I always say the same thing. It's just a program.

**Eva:** _[hushed]_ Neil, even if she is, she's still a little girl! How could you say that?!

_ [He shakes his head, and Eva shakes hers.] _

**Eva:** Please forgive Dr. Watts about his misbe-

_ [Ib jumps back into her bed. Although her face still shows signs of fear, she seems to have regained composure.] _

**Ib:** _ [closes her eyes] _ It's fine. I trust you both, with looking at all my memories, and finding out everything.

**Neil:** _ [hushed] _ Woah... I thought that she's a pretty shy girl, but who would have known that she's okay with trusting strangers?

**Eva:** _[hushed]_ While I wouldn't want my own child having that trait, it'll help us with the search moving forward.

_ [She turns to Ib, and rubs her head gently, shifting her hair to the side. Neil shifts uncomfortably.]  _

**Eva:** _[tenderly]_ Thank you, Ib. We'll take care of it from here.

**Neil:** _ [proudly]  _ ... And pause!

_ [A flash of white light engulfs the room for a split second. Ib lies in place, motionless.] _

**Eva:** You know, not all the functions for MWRS use voice control, right?

**Neil:** Yeah, but you gotta admit, it feels pretty epic exclaiming it to the heavens. By the way, is it just me, or is Ib acting very strange? She's nowhere this talkative, and what about that gong off in the distance?

**Eva:** I think it's part of MIPS, right?

**Neil:** Nope, I didn't activate it yet, since we only were talking to Ib on her own. We'll need it more for when we talk to the important people in her life.

**Eva:** _[ponderously]_ Hmm... That's peculiar. Maybe because she's younger, perhaps she interprets a lot of events differently. It's quite easy for her to literally imagine a gong going off.

**Neil:** Possibly. But to be this outgoing? It's kinda off-putting, considering how she is normally.

_ [He stares at Ib, before turning to Eva.]  _

**Neil:** And since when did you and Ib get all buddy-buddy?

**Eva:** _ [confused]  _ Umm... what do you mean?

**Neil:** I mean, in most of our cases, you don't dare even being in the same room as the kids running around. And suddenly, you're acting like- like- a mom to her!

_ [Eva takes a step backwards, away from Ib.] _

**Eva:** I don't know. I have a soft spot for Ib, I guess.

**Neil:** And what's all this about “your child”? Do you plan on doing some adoption thing? Do you want to be a mom?

**Eva:** _ [sighs] _ No. I meant that more for the future than anything else.

_ [Neil slyly looks at Eva.]  _

**Neil:** Oh, so you're okay with having a child?

_ [She rolls her eyes.]  _

**Eva:** _ [exasperatedly] _ Again, in the future.

**Neil:** Tell me more!

**Eva:** _ [unhesitatingly] _ No, Neil.

**Neil:** _ [groans]  _ Fine, fine, killjoy. By the way, why did we have to repeat ourselves from what we said back at the agency AND at her house?

**** **** **Eva:** It was a part of the contract, remember? It's one of the parts that always repeats itself on every contract.

_ [Neil scratches his head, and has a sheepish grin on his face. Eva looks up into the sky, hoping that something would strike down this poor fool.] _

**Eva:** You didn't read the contract, did you?

**Neil:** _[ignoring her question]_ Whatever, let's go to the next memory.

**Eva:** Right. _ [to herself]  _ No, no you didn't.

_ [Neil and Eva placed their hands on top of the white rabbit doll. The rabbit began to shine many different colors. Squares of static engulf Eva. Before the same happens to Neil, he holds one last worried glance towards Eva, and then towards Ib. Soon after, the entire room quickly reset itself and faded to white.] _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \--Author's Note--
> 
> Hey y'alls! Don't got much to say, aside from hooray Act 2 begins! I think Act 2 onwards may be the largest deviation from my original draft of the story, but we'll have to see. I do know that there were parts that I was... less keen on, and this chapter is part of it, due to being "exposition: the chapter." Like all the other ones!
> 
> Self-deprecation aside, I do hope you continue to enjoy the story!
> 
> Tips
> 
> \--End of Author's Note--


	7. A2S2: Similar, Yet Different

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A2S2: Similar, Yet Different - Say, haven't we SCENE this SEEN before? *finger guns*

##  Scene 2

_ [Neil and Eva look around. It seems that they are still in Ib's room, but the watch dictates that they are currently eight days in the past; the day the two of them visited the house for the very first time. Ib and Mary on the floor, playing with plush toys. It seems like there is something wrong, but they continued to play with each other in deafening silence.] _

**Neil:** So, they're just playing with a bunch of rabbits, right?

_ [Ib stares at Neil and Eva in surprise. Eva nearly jumps back from Ib's stare.] _

**Eva:** Oh! _ [exhales]  _ Sorry Neil. Gimme a sec, I forgot to turn the cloaking device back on.

**Neil:** Okay. Turn it on, and I'll reset the memory.

_ [Eva whispers under her breath, and a floating screen appears in front of Neil. He taps the screen in an almost rhythmic pattern. The room quickly flashes a brilliant white light, and the scene is replayed, with Neil and Eva being partially transparent.] _

**Eva:** _[sheepishly]_ Sorry about that.

**Neil:** _ [chortles triumphantly]  _ So it's true! You're the bumbling one! Good to know.

_ [Eva glared at Neil. Neil ignored her.] _

**Eva:** Wait, only Ib looked at us. Wasn't Mary supposed to look at us as well?

**Neil:** _ [flicks his wrist] _ Nah, I didn't touch the MIPS yet. Calm your Pegasi!

**Eva:** Pegasi?

**Neil:** Multiple of Pegasus.

**Eva:** Is that the pluralized form? I always thought it was "Pegasuses."

**Neil:** _[shrugs]_ Pegasuses, Pegasi, Pegasissies, Pegs. It's all the same to me! Anyways, we'll use MIPS when we need to, at a different time. For example, if Alaric gets here.

**Eva:** I- _ [pauses]  _ Oh, forget it.

_ [Neil leans in to Ib and Mary, who are still quiet.] _

**Neil:** _ [clicks his tongue]  _ I can't hear a thing- Volume raise by fifty percent.

_ [The dead air in the room remains as dead air, though the reverb amplifies the undisturbed air. Ib's and Mary's breaths are barely noticeable, and even the soft impacts of cotton toys hitting the wooden floors are just audible. Eva walks around the room, examining the plush toys on Ib's desk closely, while Neil leans in closer to the two kids, trying to discern any words coming out of their mouths.] _

_ [All of a sudden, an excessively loud knocking is heard on the door. Neil cups his hands over his ears in pain.] _

**Eva:** _ [shouting]  _ Gah- Volume lower by fifty percent!

_ [The volume in the room normalizes. Ib gets up, taking the white rabbit plush with her, and pulls the door open. Alaric stands on the opposite side.] _

**Alaric:** Hey Ib. Is Mary in your room?

**Ib:** Yes, dad.

_ [Ib motions her father to walk in.] _

**Neil:** Ow... my rings are earring.

**Eva:** Your rings are earring?

**Neil:** _ [looks away]  _ Whatever!

_ [Alaric steps in, and tenderly smiles and waves at Mary.] _

**Alaric:** Hey Mary. You two are playing with those stuffed rabbits I got for you?

**Mary:** Yeah, but I don't think that Ib wants to play.

**Ib:** _ [softly]  _ Yes... But playing does take my mind off of things.

_ [She places down the white rabbit upright on her bed.] _

**Alaric:** Well, I heard from your mother that the doctors came. They'll help you remember.

**Neil:** Hey, that's us! Sweet! Now's the perfect time to-

**Eva:** _ [interrupting]  _ Don't you dare activate MIPS, or I'll hit you.  _ [sighs]  _ Let the memory play out first, at least.

_ [Neil deflates, nearly falling on the floor dramatically. Ib moves closer to Alaric.] _

**Ib:** _ [lights up]  _ They can? Really?

_ [Mary drops the mint green bunny in her hands and runs to Alaric, clutching the base of his suit jacket. The bunny rolls onto its side.] _

**Mary:** But Daddy, they can't help! They're going to hurt Ib!

**Alaric:** They won't hurt her! I promise you that, Mary.

_ [Mary loosens her grip on him. He lifts up her face for her to meet his gaze.] _

**Alaric:** I wouldn't hire them if they'd hurt Ib. _ [frowning]  _ But, I have to have a meeting with them. _ [looks at Ib]  _ And I need to take you with me while your mother and sister prepares the house for a couple of house guests.

**Ib:** Okay. If they can help me out, then I trust them.

_ [Eva smiles to herself.] _

**Neil:** _[scoffs]_ Leave it to a little girl to grow insanely attached to us.

_ [Neil sighs, looking at Eva expectantly. She remains silent, but she stops smiling as she holds up a finger to her mouth.] _

**Mary:** You mean I can't go?

_ [Tears begin welling in her eyes. Mary completely lets go of Alaric and takes a step backwards.] _

**Alaric:** Mary...

_ [Their father begins to flip his hands back and forth, trying to grasp at the words to defuse the situation.] _

**Alaric:** You need to keep your mother company. It'd be good for her to get some help with tidying up. She'll... like having you to be here, with her.

**Mary:** _ [shaky] _ But there was a time before me and Ib! Was Mommy lonely then too?

_ [Ib walks towards her, and gently holds her wrist. Mary glances at her.] _

**Ib:** _[softly]_ Everything will be alright, sis.

_ [Mary looks back to her father, who leans down to talk to her face to face.] _

**Alaric:** Mary. _ [sighs]  _ Before, I could stay at home with her all day long. But now, things aren't the same anymore. There's a lot of responsibilities that the grown-ups have to take care of, and one of those responsibilities I have is to make sure Ib is well taken care of, and that means going to this meeting with her. So, the least you can do for me, your mother, and especially Ib is to stay at home, stay with your mother. Understand now?

**Mary:** _[defeated]_ Okay... 

_ [Alaric claps his hands together.]  _

**Alaric:** Good. Now then, we'll be having dinner. I brought home some sandwiches, and your mother has made some soup. It's the type of stuff you could find in a café, and I know how much you two like cafés, right?

**Ib:** _[smiling]_ Yes!

_ [Mary does not answer him. Regardless, he turns around.] _

**Alaric:** Come on, you two. Let's go eat!

_ [Ib and her father walk out of the room, but Mary stays inside the room, her body drooping towards the floor. A tear manages to escape, slowly rolling down her face. Mary lazily closes the door. As Mary begins to speak, her voice becomes increasingly muffled and soft.] _

**Mary:** No... Then it's only a matter...

_ [Mary's voice becomes inaudible, and she begins to fade out, turning transparent.] _

**Neil:** That looks like it's the end of the memory. And this all happened on the day that we met them? Man, this sucks...

_ [He sits down on Ib's bed.] _

**Eva:** It seems that Ib wasn't able to hear the rest of what Mary was saying. I think Mary might know where she comes from, and she's keeping it a secret from everyone. If only Ib decided to stay near the room, we wouldn't need to be here... _ [sighs] _

**Neil:** I don't know about you, but I'm still thinking about why Alaric and Sherry were so defensive about how Mary entered their family. They better really not know. I don't want to do this case knowing that I wasted my time here.

**Eva:** My thoughts exactly. We'll tell them what we know as soon as we find out. For right now, let's look for memory links.

_ [Eva and Neil sifts around the entire room, looking for something that would be of value to Ib. Neil picks up the lime green rabbit. Upon his touch, a blue ball forms around it and enters Neil's body. Similarly, Eva picks up the white rabbit, and a green sphere enters her body.] _

**Neil:** Huh. This is a memento. Must be a gift from Ib to Mary, or something. Why would Ib also have fond memories of this green rabbit as well as the white one?

**Eva:** _ [putting down the white rabbit] _ I don't know. We'll figure it out soon enough. The white rabbit already gave us a memory link. With that green rabbit, we got two. What else is there?

**Neil:** You know, there's a lot of rabbits in our cases lately.

**Eva:** Really?

**Neil:** Yeah. I mean, disregarding this case and Johnny's case, there was also that Drevis woman and her lost bunny, Snowball. And how about Tamashii, that gamer chick that wanted to change a game character's design, from a womanly bunny, to a... regular bunny? That was a silly case too! _ [laughs] _

**Eva:** Ugh... You're right, wow. I never realized exactly how many bunnies there are.

_ [She glances towards Ib's bed.] _

**Eva:** Anyway, I think the pillow's a memento.

**Neil:** Really?

_ [Aside from the rose-patterned design, the pillow is just that: a pillow. But, when Neil tries to pick up the pillow, a red aura surrounds it.] _

**Neil:** Yup. That's the link.

_ [Ib walks in. Mary reappears, jumping up and off of the floor. Neil lets out a small, high-pitched squeak. Mary does the same.] _

**Ib:** ... Are you okay, Mary? I just wanted to check on you.

**Mary:** Oh... Yeah!

_ [She forces out a smile. Eva is trying to stifle her laughter.] _

**Eva:** Neil... Are you okay?

_ [She giggles intermittently. Neil's face begins to redden.] _

**Neil:** _[waving his hands around]_ Never mind that!

_ [Ib nods and turns around to the exit. Mary reaches out her hand towards Ib.] _

**Mary:** Wait! Ib...

_ [Ib pauses, and looks at Mary dead on.] _

**Mary:** I...

**Ib and Mary:** I want to stay with you, sis. I want us to stick together.

_ [A loud gong sounds in the distance.] _

_ [Ib walks closer toward Mary, heavily examining her eyes. Mary looks away, but Ib holds Mary's hand with her fingers, timidly smiling.]  _

**Ib:** Together forever.

**Mary:** _ [giggle]  _ Right. Together forever.

_ [She gives Ib a quick hug.] _

**Mary:** I won't lose you.

_ [Ib returns the hug, and the two let go of each other.] _

**Mary:** Let's not keep Mommy and Daddy waiting!

_ [Mary darts out of the room beaming with happiness, Ib following. A yellow orb enters Neil's body.] _

**Neil:** Another gong, huh?

**Eva:** I'm not sure what's up with that. _ [clearing her throat]  _ Back on topic, Mary seems so insecure about her and Ib.

**Neil:** _[sighs]_ And this moment meant enough to be another memory link. Figures, we're back to the cheese fest again...

**Eva:** Yeah. Let's continue to look for these memory links, so we can figure out what happens before this. And hopefully, another thing can scare you. It's karma, you know?

**Neil:** Shush. I don't need to hear any more of this.

_ [After Eva laughs a bit more openly, the two doctors begin the search. After some searching in Ib's room, Neil looks underneath Ib's bed. There is a jar underneath. He reaches for it, and takes it. Upon opening it, he sees that there are lemon-flavored candies inside. An orange and purple ball comes from opening the jar, and enters Eva's body.] _

**Neil:** _ [pulling one out]  _ Ooh. I love these candies!

**Eva:** If it's unhealthy, you gravitate towards it, no matter what. Is that right?

**Neil:** No! More like...

_ [While Neil was wondering what to say in response, Eva throws the orbs into the pillow, shatters the aura surrounding it. The pillow begins to glow underneath her hand.] _

**Neil:** Hey, wait!

_ [Neil extends his hand to Eva. The two of them disappear, and the room fades to white.] _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \--Author's Note--
> 
> Fun fact! Chapter 3, or A1S3, is the only chapter to not include Neil or Eva!
> 
> This is the second most experimental chapter I written out. At this point, you probably realized it was a rehash of A1S3, or Chapter 3. In part, the original Chapter three barely hit one thousand words, and I felt like I could expand on that. And the premise of the story gave me a good opportunity to do just that. In reality, it just had our protagonists give running commentary.
> 
> Of course, with the complete rewrite of the story, I could have done away completely of this chapter. But let's just say I'm using this chapter to lay the groundwork for future chapters, okay? ^___^
> 
> Anyway, next chapter is gonna be weird. Despite it being a kinda short chapter, there may be a need to split it into two. I'm still looking over it, so no finalized decisions. I'm sure by next Monday, the answer is gonna become clear.
> 
> That's all I gotta say! Hope you continue to read and enjoy the story! :D
> 
> -Tips
> 
> \--End of Author's Note--


	8. A2S3: A Faint Glimmer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A2S3: A Faint Glimmer - Neil and Eva talk to not Sherry, not Alaric, and not Ib!

##  Scene 3

_ [Neil and Eva are in a bedroom, but it does not appear to be Ib's. Neil falls on Eva's feet. Grasping at her pant leg and looking up at her, he glimmers a cheeky smirk. Eva kicks him off of her.] _

_ [The vinyl wallpaper around the room is canvas white and rough, brittle in appearance. Oddly, the material of the floor is very similar to the wallpaper as well, but a large shaggy yet florid rug covers a good portion of the room, particularly underneath the bed and dressers. Inside the room are hardwood dressers partially covered in crayon markings, a desk with a lightly smudged vanity mirror with assorted makeup and cosmetics, and loads of toys, such as doll houses and plush animals. The plushes consist of a variety of different characters and animals. Unlike Ib’s room, none of them have any close resemblances to rabbits. On the bed is the pillow that allowed for the memory hop, as well as a sketchbook, opened to a heavily used page covered in scribbles.] _

_ [Eva is standing next to her bed. Ib and Mary were standing at the doorway of the room.] _

**Neil:** _ [getting up]  _ I never finished my response.

**Eva:** Just forget about it.

**Neil:** _[sighs]_ Fine. So, this is... Mary's room?

**Eva:** I think so.

**Neil:** It's a bit of a far cry from Ib's room. It's way less tidy, and kinda eerie looking.

**Eva:** _[looking around]_ I suppose so? I wouldn’t call it eerie. But I did take Ib as the more responsible child. Even if she's more outgoing in her mind, she's still quite straight-laced, at least in comparison to Mary.

**Neil:** You're telling me! _ [points at his leg] _ Did you SEE what she did to my pants?

**Eva:** Which is why I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

**Neil:** What benefit does Mary offer? Eva, you're sorely misjudging how terrible Mary-

_ [A loud thud emanates from the doorway, interrupting Neil's sentence. Both Neil and Eva look. It appears that Ib dropped a jar of lemon candy. The jar, being made of plastic, did not break.] _

**Ib:** Mary. Can you tell me where you found this?

_ [Mary stays silent, but she took a step backwards, and into her room. Ib pushes the door open wide. Both Neil's and Eva's jaw drops. Staring at Mary, a loud gong sounds in the distance.] _

**Neil:** You know, I'm getting used to the bells. Slowly, but surely.

_ [Eva bites her lip.] _

**Ib:** You mean you don't know?

_ [Mary still refuses to speak. Neil tiptoes towards Eva rather cautiously.] _

**Eva:** _[confused]_ Neil? What are you doing?

**Ib:** I'll go ask Mom.

**Neil:** Don't ask.

_ [He rolls his eyes towards Eva. Ib walks out and from the room.] _

**Mary:** Wait Ib!

_ [She leaves the room, chasing after Ib. Eva lightly scratches her arm.] _

**Eva:** What does your watch say? It seems that Mary doesn't have a clock in her room, or a calendar for that matter...

**Neil:** _ [looking at the watch on his wrist]  _ Um... This happened two weeks and six days ago, exactly. That was actually a sizable jump, considering this is a nine-year-old girl and this wasn't a leaping memento. Any other case, and this would have been a major drag.

**Eva:** I guess you're right. We'll take whatever we can get. _ [points] _ Let's follow them. This can't be the entire memory. And make sure to keep an eye on that watch.

**Neil:** Got it, Roger.

_ [Neil and Eva walk out of the room, walking over the jar of candy. A blue orb enters Eva's body passing the jar. As they enter into a narrow hallway, dimly lit by the light coming from Mary's room and the light from the room on the right, they see Mary and Ib making a right turn into the living room. The two doctors trail behind.] _

**Neil:** _ [scratching the back of his head] _ It's always weird that we see the entire layout of people's houses.

**Eva:** That's why there's the background checks, to make sure no one in the agency is a thief.

**Neil:** Well, it's a good thing I'm such a good Samaritan, right?

**Eva:** _ [scoffs]  _ Pretty strong and inaccurate definition of good.

_ [Sherry is in the living room, watching television and folding laundry at the same time. Ib tugs on her sleeve, with Mary right behind her.] _

**Ib:** _ [calmly]  _ Mother, I have a question.

**Sherry:** _[putting down a torn longcoat]_ Yes, what is it, honey?

**Mary:** _ [struggling to speak]  _ Don't answer her!

**Ib:** Where did Mary come from?

**Sherry:** _[pauses]_ Well...

_ [The room becomes silent. Ib, Sherry, and Mary freeze in time..] _

**Neil:** What's going on?

_ [He looks at Sherry.] _

**Eva:** ... I don't know. Maybe this is the memory gaps that Ib's been having?

_ [Neil walks towards where Ib and Sherry are and waves his hand over their faces.]  _

**Neil:** You don't think that Ib's helmet is being taken off, do you?

_ [The room suddenly fades to a dark, static void.] _

**Eva:** _[eyes widen]_ Neil, leave the system and check.

**Neil:** No! I'll stay here, and you go!

**Eva:** You? No! I'm the one who set up the machine! If something gets unstable, you would be in even more trouble if I can't fix it!

**Neil:** So what? You're facing her! It'd be quicker for you to take off your helmet for two seconds to-

_ [The room becomes a blur of color. The two of them look around. Eva sighs, and wipes her forehead.] _

**Eva:** Check the time on your watch. This was supposed to happen.

**Neil:** The time is two weeks, four days. We skipped two days, what just happened?

**Eva:** I don't have any ideas as to what that was. This might be where she forgot. But, this problem was for three weeks according to Sherry, so maybe we aren't done here yet.

**Neil:** Sigh, if only it was that easy.

_ [The room becomes much sharper.] _

_ [The room turns out to be a sterile hospital room. The room is complete with heart monitors, IV stands, chairs for visitors to sit in, a drawer filled to the brim with various medical and a curtain to conceal Ib's portion of the room, although the curtain is open and only a shadowy figure exists as Ib's roommate. Cabinets and drawers also line the room, holding medication and plastic containers. The room's walls are a shade of depressing sky blue, which compliments the mood on everyone's face: very gloomy. Ib, Alaric, Sherry, and Mary are all present. Alaric, Sherry, and Mary all seem to flicker from different positions around the hospital bed. Mary is holding the pillow that allowed Neil and Eva to enter this memory. Ib is sleeping on the patient bed and the others are standing, looking at her.] _

**Neil:** The hospital? She must have fainted.

**Eva:** This fainting spell was never mentioned before. This case is just getting more and more crazy...

**Neil:** _ [adjusting his glasses] W _ ell, this case is getting weirder by the minute.

**Eva:** I just said that.

**Neil:** No, you said that this case was getting crazy. I said that this case was getting weirder. Big difference.

_ [Eva rolls her eyes.]  _

**Neil:** Anyways, the time overlap is usually one contained area with multiples of the same person. But now, we're getting one person with multiple areas. And it's across different days? What gives?

**Eva:** Maybe it's because she's a kid?

**Neil:** Possibly. And look at them. They aren't saying anything. They aren't even moving. Did the system break?

**Eva:** Let me check. _ [clears throat]  _ M.W.R.S., check.

_ [A loud, low-pitched beep was heard.] _

**Eva:** The system seems to be functioning normally.

**Neil:** Maybe the "Memory Weaving Receiver System" only works well on old geezers.

**Eva:** Come on, Neil. You know what it actually stands for, right?

_ [Neil shakes his head no. Eva shuts her eyes and shakes her head.] _

**Eva:** _ [irritated] _ It means-

_ [The colors start changing slightly in tone, getting slightly darker and lighter. Ib's eyes are opening, and Sherry and Mary fade out and fade back in, while Alaric seems to clear up immediately. Every so often the room blurs out. A rhythmic beeping sounds off.] _

**Neil:** Huh. I think she senses the people around her...

**Eva:** I'd say she imagined them being there when she wakes up. But to imagine a hospital room in this great of detail, only to get the positions of where people are standing wrong is... peculiar. She IS a little girl, right?

_ [Eva becomes momentarily silent in thought. Neil reaches over to tap her shoulder, but Eva raises her arm in defense.] _

**Eva:** I got it. She's probably been here before. I don't think there's any other way she could remember this place so well. _ [sighs]  _ Now I understand why Sherry thought it was so important for us to see her now.

**Neil:** Well, she fainted before Sherry answered her. And Ib still isn't completely-

**Mary:** _ [screaming]  _ Wake up, Ib!

_ [At once, the room becomes crystal clear. Ib's eyes fully open. Neil clenches his hands into fists.] _

**** **Neil:** Even in memories, you continue to interrupt and annoy me.

**Eva:** Cool it, Neil. Before you accidentally get arrested for punching a little virtual girl, mean or otherwise.

_ [Neil sighs.] _

**Ib:** _ [hoarse] _ ...Mom... Dad... Mary... Where am I?

**Alaric:** Ib! Thank goodness, you're okay. Your mother was very worried.

**Sherry:** ... Of course. Come here, you!

_ [Sherry leans in to kiss Ib on the forehead. Ib puts all of her energy into giving a weak smile.] _

**** **Mary:** I was so worried, Ib. You fell over, and I thought... You... you were...

_ [Mary's voice drones off. As she places the pillow A single teardrop rolls down her face.] _

**Ib:** ... Mary? What is on-

_ [Mary swiftly wipes her face and looks at her hand. At once, she dashes off.] _

**Mary:** _ [panicked]  _ Bathroom!

_ [Mary runs right through Neil. Neil is shaking in rage. A yellow orb enters Neil's body.] _

**Neil:** And now, she's running over me, like a little rabbit in front of-

**Eva:** Your car, which you narrowly avoided. And I think you mean through you, not over you. Although...

**Neil:** Ha ha. Let me guess. More stuff involving me actually getting run over?

**Eva:** While that is certainly a nice thought to entertain, I was talking about Mary's face. Her face was distorted when she walked through you. I think Ib may have forgotten what her face looked like, or something... Neil, can you take a step in any direction?

**Neil:** Why?

**Eva:** _[pointing downwards]_ You're standing on something.

**Neil:** Pause!

_ [Ib and her parents stop moving. Even the heart monitor remains motionless. Neil takes a step away from Eva, and picks up what he was standing on. It is a handkerchief. Suddenly, the handkerchief falls to the floor, and emits a red aura.] _

**Neil:** Bingo, that's his name-o. This is what we're looking for.

**Eva:** But where are the last three spheres?

_ [Neil and Eva begin looking around. They walk towards where Ib and her parents were standing. Neil picks up a piece of lemon candy on the bed. An orange ball enters his body.] _

**Eva:** More candy. What did I say? You are always attracted to-

**Neil:** Yes, yes, yes. Things that may or may not kill me, like painkillers, extreme skydiving, kangaroo boxing, girls that give me an attitude and riding homicidal horses. Yes, anything that even pretends to threaten my life, I'm hopelessly attracted to it.  _ [sighs]  _ Whatever.

_ [Neil pouts before going onto the floor to search underneath Ib's bed. Eva looks away from him, examining the other parts of the room, blushing.] _

_ [After searching for quite some time, Eva sits down in one of the chairs in the room. Neil is standing on a stool, looking on top of one of the cabinets, searching fruitlessly. Eva slouches and yawns.] _

**Eva:** Neil, play the scene further. Maybe we're missing something that happens later.

_ [Neil hops off of the stool, and cracks his back. He wipes sweat off of his forehead, and adjusts his glasses.] _

**Neil:** Phew... R-right. Play!

_ [Ib, Alaric, Sherry, and the heart monitor all become animated. The monitor continues to ring out rhythmic beats.] _

**** **Alaric:** Oh yeah, I got you a little something, Ib!

_ [Alaric digs into his right pants pocket, and pulls out a red rose keychain. He places it on the bed.] _

**Sherry:** Are you sure? I don't think Ib has anything that-

**Ib:** _ [taking the key chain, and holding it up to her face]  _ I love it! Thanks, dad!

**Alaric:** It's nothing for my little girl.

_ [A loud screech is made. A muffled voice is heard from a speaker above Ib's bed.] _

**Voice:** To the parents of Mary, your daughter is in office 102. Please come here to pick her up. Again, to the family of Mary, your child is in office 102. Please come here to pick her up. Thank you.

_ [An audible click is heard from the speaker above Ib's bed.] _

**Alaric:** _ [worried]  _ Oh no, Mary... Sherry, I'll be right back.

_ [Alaric leaves the room.] _

**Sherry:** That girl... she can sometimes be such a nuisance. Why does she always run away from us?

**** **Neil:** Maybe because you don't know where she came from. Ever think of that?

**Eva:** _[flabbergasted]_ Neil!

**Ib:** It's fine, Mom. She's just like that.

**Sherry:** I know, but sometimes it's nice to have you, doing only what you need to do. She's a fun daughter, but you're reliable. Ib, I was afraid of something bad happening. After you fainted, I got so worried. I was crying. I...

_ [Sherry starts choking up, unable to say what she wants to say. Ib puts down the key chain, and looks at Sherry.] _

**Ib:** Mom, don't cry.

**Sherry:** Ib...

_ [Ib and Sherry hug. The two of them appear to stop, and a purple ball enters Eva's body when she picks up the key chain.] _

**Neil:** Looks like me and Sherry agree. Mary is the black sheep after all...

**Eva:** You think she really plays favorites?

**Neil:** Of course! It's impossible to not play favorites, unless you plan to treat both your children with a blindfold on. Anyways, it seems that we’ve seen what we need to see.  _ [pauses]  _ Bleugh, that was a weird sentence.

**Eva:** Not to mention, that's messed up to tell a nine-year-old kid that. Who tells their kid "Hey, you're the better kid!" and thinks that wouldn't cause untold mental trauma to either kid?

**Neil:** Beats me. I was a troublemaker when I was younger, so I got used to hearing the opposite.

**Eva:** Terrible. _ [sighs]  _ Well, we're at a standstill. We're still missing yellow.

**Neil:** May I recommend a little bit of MIPS?

_ [Neil gives her a cheeky grin. Eva blankly stares at Neil.] _

**Eva:** I feel like this is a poorly hidden attempt to talk to Alaric again. But I don't have any other ideas. Go ahead Neil, I'll stay hidden.

**Neil:** Excellent! Activate M.I.P.S.!

_ [The room flurries in a flash of lights, before Neil appears into the room, covered with just as static as how Sherry appears. Sherry lets go of Ib and jumps back.] _

**Sherry:** Ah! Doctor, don't scare us like that!

_ [Eva stifles her laughter.] _

**Neil:** _[bowing]_ My apologies, Mrs. Sherry.

_ [Fury flares in her eyes.] _

**Sherry:** _ [slightly growling]  _ Do NOT call me Mrs. Sherry. At least refer to me with my husband's last name. "Mrs. Sherry," my butt.

_ [Eva bursts out in laughter.] _

**Eva:** Please... _ [wheezes]  _ Neil, keep going! This is perfect.

**Sherry:** So, what is it, doctor? What do you need?

_ [Neil freezes in places, Eva's laughs beginning to echo in the room. He snaps back to reality.] _

**Neil:** _[nervously]_ Don't worry about me! I-I just wanted to check on Ib is all.

**Ib:** I'm fine, doctor.

**Neil:** Oh.  _ [pauses] That's good. _

**Sherry:** If that's all, then please leave, doctor.

**Eva:** What a smooth operator you are.

_ [Eva doubles over in laughter. Burning red, he walks towards the door, but Alaric and Mary return, hand in hand. Neil's face brightens up.] _

**Alaric:** Oh, hello doctor!  _ [smiles] _

**Neil:** Alaric, buddy! How've you been?

**Alaric:** You know my middle name?

**Neil:** _ [laughs]  _ Of course! You're a cool guy with a cool name!

_ [Eva sighs.] _

**Eva:** So much for you making a fool of yourself. It was fun.

_ [Neil grips the air with one hand.] _

**Alaric:** I'm sorry, doctor. I wish to keep formalities with people I don't know.

_ [Neil looks as if he's ready to cry. Alaric extends the hand that isn't holding Mary.] _

**Alaric:** Weiss Guertena at your service.

_ [Alaric gives a warm smile to Neil. Neil defeatedly shakes his hand, and a yellow orb enters his body.] _

**Eva:** That's it! There's the yellow orb!

_ [Eva whispers under her breath, and the room freezes once more. Neil crumples onto the floor.] _

**Eva:** You okay Neil?

**Neil:** _[silently]_ I never want to use MIPS ever again.

_ [Neil jumps up and walks to the handkerchief. Eva motions to reach towards him, but Neil puts up his hand.] _

**Neil:** Eva, I need this.

_ [Eva looks at him quizzically. He hits the aura around the handkerchief with the blue, green, and yellow orbs. He prepares for the next hit.] _

**Neil:** Falcon...

_ [He hits the aura with the orange orb. Eva shakes her head.] _

**Neil:** PUNCH!

_ [Neil inserts the purple ball into the aura, and the aura is shattered.] _

**Eva:** _ [sweetly]  _ Feel better?

**Neil:** _ [bitterly]  _ No.

_ [Neil places his hand over the handkerchief, and the room shines a brilliant light show just before fading into white.] _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \--Author's Note--
> 
> This was a rough chapter to edit. I had a couple of personal things I had to deal with. Some tragedies involving a certain virus. Make your own assumptions of what it is, but point is, I was dealing with garbage while getting this chapter ready. Certainly didn't help that there was a hospital setting in this chapter. I will not be updating next week, because being creative is not exactly an easy sell during grieving. It also explains why the update came a little later than usually, in the late afternoon instead of morning.
> 
> I do have a couple of notes about the chapter itself. Firstly, drama bomb. The original chapter lost its impact because the reveal came out a lot earlier, and I wasn't happy with that. The adjustments has been made here.
> 
> Second, I decided to keep the original chapter structure. I didn't know whether to split the chapter up into Mary's room for one part and the hospital for the second one. The grief garbage I'm dealing certainly influenced the decision.
> 
> Lastly, I did do a fairly large overhaul, so there's quite a bit more than the original chapter had to fit.
> 
> I'd normally talk about the chapter coming up, but... I'm kind of thrown off balance with real life stuff. I'll be back, I've grieved before and I'll probably grieve again. But for that to happen, I need time.
> 
> Thanks for sticking around and reading the story. Hope you understand, and I'll see you in two weeks.
> 
> -Tips
> 
> \--End of Author's Note--


	9. A2S4: The Black Notebook

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A2S4: The Black Notebook - Ah yes, elementary school writings. Truly the breadth of childish nonsense.

##  Scene 4 

_ [Neil and Eva reappear inside Mary's room. Ib is sitting upright on Mary's bed. The rose-patterned pillow is placed right behind her, and her handkerchief is resting on it, flattened and folded neatly. In her hands is a hard-covered black notebook. She is currently staring at the closed book with interest. Neil claps his hands together, clearing it of invisible dust.] _

**Neil:** Alright. We're back in the twerp's room.

**Eva:** Come on. As far as we know, I don't think Mary's that bad to call her a "twerp".

_ [Neil huffs, looking away.] _

__ **Neil:** I’m still mad about the stupid MIPS. I vow to never-

**Eva:** Don't worry, icky Vicky, she's probably fine.

_ [Ib flips over the book to the back.] _

**Ib:** I don't remember this notebook...

_ [Hunching over it, Ib opens the notebook. Inside, there are several paragraphs on each page, all in dainty handwriting. However, several ink blots are scattered across the pages. Oddly, none of the ink stains the opposite sides of the paper. Eva peers into the notebook, and Neil leans on her back, holding her left shoulder.] _

**Eva:** The penmanship in this notebook is quite impressive.

**Neil:** Eh, I could do better.

**Eva:** I doubt that. But I took a written linguistics class, and the handwriting seems like it was practiced quite a bit. Who knows? Maybe the author writes fanfict-

**Neil:** Don't even finish that word. I despise fanfiction.

**Eva:** Doesn't your game count as fanfiction?

_ [Eva turns towards him.] _

**Eva:** Also, get off of me!

_ [Eva makes an elbowing motion towards his stomach, and he backs away. Ib solemnly begins to read the book's contents aloud.] _

**Ib:** I am lost in this weird place... And I'm all by myself.

**Neil:** Well, I guess it's a good thing that she's a little girl who doesn't read in her head. Otherwise, I might have to have read the book myself.

_ [Eva shushes Neil. He rolls his eyes again.] _

**Ib:** I was in the gallery with mom and dad... And I was separated from them. I don't know where I should go. But, I want to see them again. I'm scared to go forward. But I'm more scared to stay here. I want to go back home, no matter what.

_ [Ib pauses.] _

**Eva:** A gallery. Where do you think they went?

**Neil:** _[shrugging]_ Dunno.

**Ib:** This notebook is glued to the table... I can't remove it.

_ [Ib stares outwards, away from the book. Eva looks into the book.] _

**Eva:** _ [exasperated]  _ No wonder she's looking away! It literally has the words "this notebook is glued to the table." It even has an ellipsis!

**Neil:** That's kinda weird. Do you think she wrote it? Seems amateurish enough.

**Eva:** Don't know about that either. If you couldn't remember writing something, would you be able to recognize your own handwriting?

_ [Ib turns the page.] _

**Neil:** Hmm... I don't know. Should you know, Mrs. Linguistics Major?

**Eva:** Not married, and not a linguistics major. Every part of that name was wrong!  _ [sighs]  _ Anyway, we can't make any assumptions. We need to figure this out, starting off with which gallery this is. I mean... if a little girl called it a gallery, you'd say it's an art gallery, right?

**Neil:** I suppose... but then again, there's a food gallery near work!

_ [Neil licks his lips. Eva shakes her head. Ib flips around in the notebook some more, before returning to the page she was on.] _

**Neil:** But yeah, no assuming. You know what they say about assuming, right? Don't assume, otherwise you make an-

**Eva:** _[interrupting]_ Anyway, are there any galleries around here?

**Neil:** If it's important, we'll see it here, right?

**Eva:** Yup, at least I hope so.

_ [Ib stares intently at the pages.] _

**Ib:** This notebook again. It's the same notebook.

_ [She briefly pauses, brushing her hair out of her face.] _

**Ib:** This place isn't safe. There are things trying to hurt me and pluck the petals off of this rose I found. I managed to get away from everything. But the hands from the walls, and those things from clothing stores that started to chase me like the kids in the playground... This place is scary. There also was a drawing that played hide-and-seek, and I saw something. I saw me.

_ [Ib pauses, and closes the book, keeping her finger on the page. The doctors worriedly stare at her. Ib recomposes herself, and turns back to the page.] _

**Ib:** It looked like a mirror, but... something wasn't right. I was upside down, on a rope. Why is something like that here? I don't understand anything. Why I am in this place, and why is this... mirror-painting thing here?

_ [Ib turns the page.] _

**Ib:** And this rose... If it loses petals, it hurts me. I don't know what's happening anymore. Mom, dad, if you read this, please find me!

_ [Ib stops again, in grim contemplation.] _

**Eva:** Whoever the writer is, whether it's Ib or someone else, I understand them. Being in a terrible place, with terrible sights, and experiencing terrible things... Almost wishing that you worked somewhere else-

**Neil:** You're referring to me, aren't you?

**Eva:** No. I'm referring to the idiot to my left.

_ [Trembling, Ib turns the page again. Neil looks at Ib.] _

**Neil:** How cruel. You would call Ib a moron?

**Eva:** My left, not yours. And I said idiot, not moron... _ [shakes her head]  _ At any rate, a lot of this stuff sounds fake, like some gruesome fairy tale. I mean, a rose that is connected to a person's life?

**** **Neil:** Hey, you never know. And I don't think you should blame Ib if she wrote this.

**Eva:** I'm not blaming her. I'd expect a little girl her age to write like this, even with the gruesomeness. It's completely exp-

_ [Ib abruptly starts reading.] _

**Ib:** I met a person here. His name is Garry. And he's... He's nice! He's trying to take care of me, although I'm actually taking care of him. I don't think he understands where we are... but I definitely don't understand either. But he's still caring for me. I don't feel as alone. I feel comfortable with Garry around. He feels like someone I can trust. I'm going with him, so we can get out together. We're both stuck here, but we're stuck here together.

_ [Ib turns the page.] _

**Eva:** _[impactful]_ -pected.

**Neil:** I'm surprised you remember what you were saying. Nice repetition, by the way. You kept repeating-

**Eva:** Expected, yeah. I just said it twice for emphasis... or rather because you're as dense as a pile of bricks, and you clearly needed the help.

_ [Neil clutches his chest.] _

**Neil:** _[sarcastically] S_ o cruel.

**Eva:** Let's see what else is written in this book.

**Ib:** Everything... everything became worse. Mom and dad... Even Garry...

_ [Ib turns the page.] _

**Ib:** He's hurt, but he still tried to help me. When he fell on the ground from protecting me, I was scared of this place again. I don't want to be alone here, especially after finding someone like him. He's my friend! And he's such a nice person! I don't want anything to happen to me, but I don't want anything to happen to him either!

_ [Ib turns the page.] _

**** **Neil:** I didn't realize how much paper space has been wasted. Yeesh, you could have fit all of this on one page!

**Eva:** I'll concede to that, whoever wrote this is definitely wasting the paper in this notebook.

**Ib:** I took him to a safe place. I took his jacket and covered him with it, like a blanket. He woke up later, and even though he had a nightmare, he understood that I was scared. He apologized and even gave me a lemon candy! He told me to eat it later, and then he talked about a lot of things. He's so smart! But just hearing him speak makes me feel better. We'll leave once he's ready.

**Eva:** It seems that Ib doesn't remember this. Is this what she meant?

**Neil:** Is this, like, Ib's diary or something? What's with girls and their diaries?

_ [Neil raises his eyebrows and smirks at Eva.] _

**Eva:** _[blushing]_ Shut up, Neil.

 **Neil:** _[chuckling]_ Hey, at least you didn't write about your love life or anything. It seems that Ib really likes this Garry... guy. Eva?

_ [Eva is oddly silent after Neil says that statement. Neil looks at Eva with idiotic ignorance. Ib turns the page again.] _

**Ib:** I met another person. She-

_ [The room, along with Ib, vanishes. Nothing but Neil, Eva, and lucid whiteness and static remains. Eva snaps back into reality.] _

**Eva:** _[sighs]_ What's happening now? Again?

**Neil:** System, save state.

_ [Loud beeps can be heard echoing through the emptiness of the white void Neil and Eva are in.] _

**Eva:** Neil, get out and-

_ [Neil grabs Eva's shoulders and stares her down.] _

**Neil:** We are not having this fight again! Please, Eva. Please leave and check what's going on. I don't want anything to happen to us!

**Eva:** Neil...

_ [She remains silent for a brief moment.] _

**Eva:** Okay, I'll be right back.

_ [Eva vanishes in an evaporating static. Neil is left all alone. Neil crosses his legs, and sits on the floor.] _

**Neil:** _[sighs]_ Especially you. _[clears throat]_ System, status check.

_ [Loud beeps echo through the empty void. A white transparent screen appears in front of Neil. As he taps the screen, more loud sounds ring out. As the beeps continue, Eva reappears behind Neil, emerging from static. She seems noticeably distraught.] _

**Eva:** Looks like you checked what was going on.

**Neil:** Yeah. You were quick to check up on Ib apparently. What happened?

**Eva:** You... You're right. Mary is a twerp.

_ [Neil grins slyly, but looks at the expression on Eva's face. He straightens his face and gets up from off the invisible floor.] _

**Neil:** Mary was responsible for this?

**Eva:** Yeah. I saw her tampering with the helmet Ib was wearing.

_ [The two of them stay silent for a moment.] _

**Eva:** By the way... you ARE the one who hates sentimental feelings, right? It sounded like you-

**Neil:** _[nervously]_ I-I s-saved the state we were up to. _[coughs]_ Want to safety shut down, and discuss the contract with Alaric and Sherry before we continue?

**Eva:** Please, let's do so. By the way, did you get a chance to look at the time?

**Neil:** _[looking at his watch]_ It says that we were back three weeks and two days in time. How long do we have to go back?

**Eva:** _ [shrugging]  _ Who knows? Ib might have met Mary as far back as toddlers. It didn't help that the system crashed while Ib was reading that book aloud. But if we can't find the answer...

**Neil:** Right. No paycheck.

**Eva:** No- that's... never mind.

_ [Eva shakes her head in slight disgust. The room slowly flashes back into its original state. Ib is still on the bed, her head resting on the rose pillow. Tears well up in her eyes, and a damp handkerchief was covering her nose. The book is lying next to her, but there are pages that appear to be hastily torn out.] _

**** **Neil:** We should leave the system. We'll be able to return here later.

**Eva:** Right.

_ [Both Eva and Neil evaporate into a static mess before disappearing completely.] _

**Ib:** _[whimpering]_ Mary... J-just who are you?

_ [Ib wipes her face with the handkerchief in her hands before fading with the room to white.] _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \--Author's Note--
> 
> (5-4-20 Author's Note)
> 
> Hey, I'm back! Thank you all for your patience. Let's ignore the sadness right now, and move on to some updates!
> 
> First off, tragedies aside, the fic is moving along quite well. I do think that I'm treading on a similar ground to how the fic was going in the original draft (which is fine, although I did play with the idea of this chapter going differently), but a pretty major deviation is happening for next week! So stay tuned!
> 
> This chapter was kinda hard. It bounced back between two different perspectives, and it's not exactly the best balance of it, in my opinion. I do feel like at points, it can be quite hard to follow. I'm sticking with the chapter that you see, but I could continue editing this chapter forever. Will I do that? No. But I want to.
> 
> Barring more personal tragedies, I should be back on my regular uploading schedule, so to the lovely folks who are reading the fic, I hope you enjoyed the past chapters, and the chapters to come! ^___^
> 
> -Tips
> 
> (5-15-20 Author's note)
> 
> ... And there I go. So, fun fact. Remember how I said "barring more personal tragedies?" Guess what hecking happened! >___<
> 
> I had a major surgery (unrelated to dumb current ongoing event, but certainly made worse due to dumb current ongoing event). Add on top of that finals for some classes that I can't prepare for because I'm still recovering, and you got a beautiful recipe for disaster in terms of updates.
> 
> Apologies that I haven't uploaded in a while and this update came late. This unfortunate hiatus will end after next week, and I should be able to resume normal uploads on May 25 (happy Memorial Day!)
> 
> I hope you understand the circumstance! >___<
> 
> -Tips
> 
> (7-17-20 Author's note)
> 
> Well, time to admit my failure. I want to apologize for the lack of updates. I have my reasons. My classes have been pushed into the summer, I moved to a new place, I started a not-internship... thing, and personal crises that is unfortunately too common nowadays. But that ain't a reason for not keeping y'all lovely folk in the loop. I'm sorry.
> 
> I also am willing to admit that in part of those crises that occurred, my ability to fanfic, and more importantly my drive to fanfic has waned by a lot. I'm trying to get back into it by making small updates for the posted chapters, some of which have already been done. I think it'll help to reread and make minor edits (like for example, the now poorly-aged reference to Cryaotic, which I hope no one gets the reference now). It'll be a bit of a soft reset, and a way to get back into things.
> 
> Thank you all for bearing with me. I won't make another promise that I can't keep. When the chapter is ready, I'll push it out. When that will happen? When it happens.
> 
> -Tips, hopefully for the last time during this chapter
> 
> \--End of Author's Note--


End file.
